Helping Your Anxious Child: A Step-By-Step Guide for Parents

My 8 year old daughter has a lot of issues with anxiety. Fortunately it hasn't gotten to the point where it's extreme but we want to give her tools so that it doesn't get that way. I myself have had issues with anxiety my whole life so I'm sure much of the problems stem from hereditary. That being said, I as an adult have learned many tools such as Yoga and meditation techniques which have been incredibly helpful. Still, these techniques have been hard for me to translate in a useful way for a child this young. This book has given me and my wife many tools to help with our daughter's anxiety issues and I am learning a lot to use for myself as well. It is written in a way that anyone can use it, you don't need to be a therapist. The approach to realistic thinking is very realistic to implement. One suggestion I have for those wishing to implement relaxation techniques for their children is to also look into the wonderful materials by Lori Lite. Her CD's "Indigo Dreams", "Indigo Ocean Dreams" and "Indigo Teen Dreams" are produced with young children in mind as well as teenagers. They are guided meditations, affirmations,relaxation and visualization techniques that are suitable for kids (and my wife and I have done them also). While the material in the book is certainly excellent, these CD's by Ms. Lite make it considerably easier for children to relate to. Plus they can be used to help your child sleep more soundly and can help them relax if they have bad dreams. They have very relaxing, healing music and wonderful narration that helps these wonderful stories gently lead children to a more peaceful state of mind and overall being. The combination of the excellent book plus these CD's are wonderful tools to help you to help heal your anxious child.

The approach on this book brought almost inmediate results as I helped my son with certain anxieties. It was like magic! Very good tool. Thanks

My teenager suffers from PTSD - his anxiety is so sky high that he was rarely going to school. After a years worth of visits to psychiatrists and medication which was not working, I purchased this book and put it in action the week it arrived. My son had not made it to school on a Monday or Tuesday since the school year began - after one session of "realistic thinking" on Sunday nite - he went to school Monday! He was then able to go all week - even to midterm exams! On the following Sunday nite his anxiety began again and we started another round of realistic thinking - he made it to school. You must try this book - it is excellent!

The chapters were laid out sensibly with straightforward chapter objectives and reviews. The suggestions to help your child were explained clearly, not with psycho babble, and they were practical. It explains why your child might be feeling anxious. The link between thoughts,feelings, and anxiety. How your child can manipulate his or her thoughts to become more realistic and reduce their anxiety. Relaxation techniques. Suggestions on how you as a parent can help your child manage his/her anxiety. How to help your child with a plan to empower him/her. I found it very helpful to read this book at a time when I was feeling helpless as a mother. They always say parenthood does not come with a manual, but if you face an anxiety problem with your child, this book is the closest thing to a manual I have found. The steps do work. It does get better. Good luck.

My 9 year old has always been the worry wart of the family, always needed to ask if it will be ok and could see all the possible disasters that could ever take place. Reading this book gave me practical strategies I could use with him when he was avoiding new situations and for those before school tummy aches. It was great to read through the descriptions of other anxious children and think that's exactly what he is like. A real bonus was his reaction to these descriptions - it was the first time he realised that other kids out there worry just as much as he does. The book helps you to teach your child how they can handle worries and fears when they do occur - it's more about managing worry than getting them to ignore the worry. It also helps you to understand how you can change you reactions to help your child. It was a lot of work to really tackle all of his worries but the reading was easy to do and each section isn't too long so you can read one in a lunch break if you need to. If you need ideas on how to help your child with fears and worries this will be a great start.