What to Do When You're Scared & Worried: A Guide for Kids

by James J. Crist

From a fear of spiders to panic attacks, kids have worries and fears, just like adults. But while adults have access to a lot of helpful information, that hasn't been true for kids until now. Drawing on his years of experience helping children deal with anxiety, Dr. James Crist has written a book that kids can turn to when they need advice, reassurance, and ideas. He starts by telling young readers that all kids are scared and worried sometimes; they're not alone. He explains where fears and worries come from and how the mind and body work together to make fears worse or better. He describes various kinds of fears and suggests ten Fear Chasers and Worry Erasers kids can try to feel safer, stronger, and calmer. The second part of the book focuses on phobias, separation anxiety, OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), and other problems too big for kids to handle on their own, and explains what it's like to get counseling. Includes a special "Note to Grown-ups" and a! list of resources.

Genres: Parenting, Childrens, Education, Self Help

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Saheed · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great book

I liked the way the writer positioned all the content in a synchronised way
Nice☺ I liked it good 😘

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First 50 pages or so are an introduction to types of worrying and include exercises to help kids narrow down what worries or scares them, and how to use "Fear Chasers" and "Worry Erasers".

Crist does an excellent job of explaining what your mind and body are going through when you think worrisome or fearful thoughts, and I think giving it that physical connection can be very helpful to people who are just starting to understand anxiety.

Second half of book goes into phobias, panic attacks, OCD, etc. I did not review these sections, but what I like is that they are written for children in the 9-13 age group. As parents are doing their own reading and research, this is a book that could be read together.

There is a helpful chapter on what to expect from counseling sessions. This would be a good resource for kids or parents who have no idea what to expect.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book for children who are worriers or get anxious about things. I read this book as I had started to get a trickle of under-12 clients coming through the door and I wanted to find an interesting and understandable way of explaining anxiety, stress and how negative thinking affects our happiness. This book uses a great little metaphor - that the amygdala (part of the brain responsible for triggering the fight or flight response) was like a guard post looking out for danger. Some of the stuff in the book doesn't follow my style of working (i.e. at times it focuses on the problem rather than the solution) but on the whole it has been a great help to me in structuring my sessions.

[ReadingJungle.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

What to Do When You’re Scared and Worried: A Guide for Kids is a wonderful children’s resource book that reaches out to let kids know that worries are common and can be overcome. Winning the 2004 iParenting Media Award sets this volume apart from others. Written in child-friendly terms, this work is comprehensive and gives proven techniques for dealing with fear and anxiety.

Visit www.readingjungle.com for the full review!

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book for Elizabeth at the library. She worries A LOT and this book has activities for her to do to control her anxiety. It talks about all kinds of worrying and phobias. I learned quite a bit from reading and now she is too. Hurray for books!!

[Alison Stegert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one for counsellors to have on hand to give to parents of anxious children. It's a nice one to read together.

[Marcelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book for kids. Very good at helping them understand and giving them coping skills.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and accessible for a middle schooler and it gives great tips to parents as well on helping (and even dealing with our own anxieties.)

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really helped me better understand my anxious child and gave some great coping techniques.