Do you ever catch a case of the worries? Right. You’re a parent. That’s a silly question. We all worry at least a little sometimes. But when children’s worries and anxiety become too big for them to handle, what do you do? How do you help them self-regulate back to a more peaceful state?
One step you can take is read What to Do When You Worry Too Much by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D. It’s a little different from the books that I typically include in my list of Inspiring Children’s Book Finds. For starters, it’s an easy-to-read chapter book rather than my usual picture book. And it doesn’t include a story. Not exactly.
Here’s what I mean.
The Book
What to Do When You Worry Too Much is “A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety.” It is a terrific book for parents and children to read together. You can return to this powerful resource again and again, learning about how worries tend to show up in our lives, what happens when they start growing too big, and, most importantly, what we can do about them.
This illustrated book calls itself a kid’s guide but really it’s a parent’s guide as well. You’ll find helpful workbook pages throughout. Drawing or writing about specific topics allows children to really make the lessons they just learned concrete in their minds. Observant parents, then, can gain a better understanding of how challenging their children’s anxiety has really become.
What I Love About This Children’s Book
True confession time. As I write this I happen to be going through multiple major life events all at once. To say I’ve been dealing with plenty of worries of my own, well, is putting it mildly. Once I read the parent introduction of this (meant-for-children) book I happily put my own worries into perspective. So, whether you use this book for your child or, perhaps secretly, for yourself, I can safely say it’s a powerful tool.
I love that this guide teaches children
“you have the power to make your worries go away.”
One word of caution. One of the suggestions for how to deal with worries involves ignoring them, at least until a later time. You may want to include your own discussion about how saving worries for later is much different than stuffing feelings down and never dealing with them again. Just a heads-up.
I love that What to Do When You Worry Too Much offers a number of real life situations that children can relate to. The freedom to fail shows up often throughout the book, with suggestions children can use just in case their strategies don’t work.
Finally, I love that this kid’s guide to overcoming anxiety is just one guide in a series that’s been around for quite some time, helping children handle all kinds of challenges in their lives. For example, What to Do When You Grumble Too Much, What to Do When Your Temper Flares, and What to Do When You Dread Your Bed. In other words, you’re likely to find a little something for everyone.
Recommended for worry-warts of all ages (especially 6-12).
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