Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry: Tools to Ease Anxiety and Overwhelm

by Ashley Graber, Maria Evans

A must-have guide for helping your child conquer worry, fear, and overwhelm

AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER

Kids today are more susceptible than ever to anxiety and stress. As a parent, you want to shield your child from these overwhelming feelings, but it can be daunting in an unpredictable world. Fortunately, there are ways to help, and Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry shows how.

Psychotherapists and parent coaching team Ashley Graber, LMFT, and Maria Evans, LMFT, introduce SAFER Parenting—a simple yet powerful five-step approach designed to help children ages 6-12 regulate emotions and build lasting self-esteem. Offering real-life examples and drawing on their experience working with thousands of families struggling with anxiety, they outline key practices to reduce worry both in the moment and over time.

You’ll learn how

Recognize often-missed signs of anxiety and uncover their root causes Manage big feelings and guide your child toward useful coping tools Navigate difficult conversations with therapist-approved techniques Nurture your child’s confidence and independence Create psychological safety at home to increase calm and lower anxiety Meeting parents where they are, Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry shows how despite having plenty of reasons to worry, you can become a more confident parent and help your child find ease when they need it most.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published February 11, 2025

About the author

LMFT

Reviews

[Nicolás Guasaquillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a practical guide for parents and caregivers who want to help children manage anxiety and overwhelming emotions. The authors explain how stress affects children and provide useful tools to help them feel safe, calm, and confident.

The book focuses on developing emotional resilience through healthy communication, understanding, and practical strategies. It encourages adults to create supportive environments where children can learn to face their fears, regulate their emotions, and navigate the challenges of an increasingly stressful world.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I reparent myself and stay alert to ways to be helpful as a grandparent, these kinds of books are useful. This one had a reminder I particularly love: “safe framing” versus “scary framing.” In a world where so many terrible things can and do happen, this felt like a crucial reminder about how we can inadvertently terrify our kids (and ourselves).

[Darriane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read and some much work for me to use for myself and my kids I recommend it!

[Patricia A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A insightful book. I will pass the book on to my daughter who has toddlers currently but she will gain a lot of useful information. I know having read it, it can help me be a better grandparent as my grandchildren age into their teens and you g adulthood. Thank you for these wonderful tools.

[Sami Azhari · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a parent of two young children, I have come to understand that much of parenting involves learning as you go and hoping not to make mistakes. When I seek advice, I turn to friends and family for their insights and strategies on raising children. However, like many others, I often find myself exploring the depths of the internet. While online resources can be beneficial for various topics, it is frequently challenging to distinguish between sound advice and poor guidance. With individuals posing as "experts," there is an increasing amount of misinformation to filter through.

This is where Ashley Graber and Maria Evans come in, two Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists who offer a straightforward roadmap for parents of young children. They not only present this roadmap but also share real-life examples and tangible results from their methods, along with specific steps for implementation.

This is essential reading for any parent navigating the complex landscape of parenthood.

[Rebekka Helford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so delighted by this wonderful book's accessibility, succinctness, and heart. It offers a refreshing antidote to some of other popular books about children’s anxiety, one that offers hope and immediately applicable skills, insights, and tips. "Raising Calm Kids" is equal parts insightful and practical, and manages to be both comprehensive and a manageable length for busy parents. As a marriage and family therapist who specializes in working with parents of young children, I was surprised to learn new things that I could apply to my work, as well as to my family life in raising my own children. Bravo, Ashley and Maria!

[Soso · Rating 1 out of 5]

Literally love this book. I will buy a copy. it is very practical with lots of tools to consider and use. However I cannot give a good rating due to the fact that this author is Gender and Sexually affirming young kids. Do we be more of that in the world absolutely NOT. ( this book geared toward parents of ages 6-12) children do not absolutely need to be experimenting with pronouns or talking about sex before the age of puberty and sexuality. These ideologies make our kiddos so confused and so sick into adulthood.

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book enough. It wasn't honestly anything ground breaking for me personally, a lot of reminders of what I am already trying to do while raising my kids. But, I do think it offers some good advice/ideas. As a millennial, I think the most *challenging* part of all of this, is undoing anxiety from my own childhood, while simultaneously creating a safe and confident places for my kids to grow up.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great read. As someone who frequently listens to similar subject matter this was not ground breaking but lots of great reminders. However if you are new to parenting books definitely worth listening to!

[Cindy Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and understand. Would be very helpful for parents with children of all ages.

[Patrick Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book when thinking about parenting strategies. Glad I read it.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful resource

[Kaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books teaches basic, but helpful, principles of helping kids with worry. It’s a good reminder for parents - so much of how we act and respond to situations gets absorbed by our children.