Local child died suddenly in sleep; now I’m spiraling and have been checking in on my own kids all night long.

I got a phone call from a friend yesterday. She called to tell me that her very good friend (not someone I’m close with, just someone I know by association) lost his two year old daughter the day before. She had some mild viral symptoms— low grade fever and what looked to be pink eye— and a trip to the pediatrician resulted in treatment for the pink eye and then the usual chat about easing viral discomfort. The little girl was put to bed that night or the night after, not entirely clear on the timeline, and died in her sleep.The situation is so horrendously tragic and devastating. Since I heard the news I’ve just had this knot in my stomach, like I’m not sure if I want to cry or throw up or both. When you hear about this stuff on the news it seems so distant— you can always tell yourself that horrible stuff happens in the abstract, it doesn’t happen to people I know.We just saw this family at a birthday party last week and the little girl was running around, playing and being a kid and now she’s dead. I’m not trying to make this about me of course but I’m also freaked out that my own kids were around her— what if it was a virus that killed her and they were exposed to it?I guess the point of this post is just to ask— how, as a parent, do you deal with the constant and crushing anxiety that comes with raising kids? via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2O8qMrc