I Don't Want To Be Bad: A CBT Workbook for Kids, Parents, and the Professionals who Help Them

by Amy Marschall

Everyone struggles with making good choices sometimes. That is what I tell every kid who is referred to my psychology practice. Kids struggle with this more than adults because they have not yet developed the tools needed to communicate their needs appropriately and effectively. This book is for therapists, parents, teachers, and anyone who works with kids and families. Using the activities presented, you can help children learn how to communicate appropriately, work through strong, negative emotions, and develop appropriate coping skills. It addresses the reason why kids act out and helps them identify feelings before an outburst so that they have the opportunity to make a different choice. After all, kids don't want to be bad!

98 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2020

Reviews

[Oh Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a mental health professional working with kids, this is a great book to share with parents! I love the focus on approaching difficult behavior as a teaching opportunity rather than from a punishment-oriented perspective. There are also helpful discussions on co-parenting and logical consequences. The parts aimed at parents seem very realistic and balanced. For example, while the book discusses unconditional love, it also acknowledges the fact that dealing with a child’s misbehavior is challenging! From my perspective, one of the biggest strengths of this book is that the author introduces brain-based concepts in a very easy-to-comprehend way. For example, when discussing coping skills: "The goal of these activities is to get the child’s frontal lobe back online so they can be in a place to talk about their feelings appropriately." I was also very interested to learn about the concept of aphantasia - the fact that 1-3% of people cannot imagine pictures in their minds!

[Mandewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This workbook is a great resource for communicating with kids and preteens about their emotions and thoughts. Every page offers an array of activities for parents/guardians and children alike, from journal entries and coloring pages to ice breakers, activities and conversation topics. Although neither a clinical psychologist nor a parent, I think this will be a very useful reference guide for communicating with my nieces and nephews. Dr. Marschall brings her expertise to the forefront here and the material is very approachable and easy to comprehend.