I found this at our library, What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety. (Probably good for adults, too.) The intro is for adults/parents but the book is geared towards kids reading it could be read to kids as young as Ben (5) but easily readable by C (8) on his own. I found him exploring it this morning and the older three are all working on it now. It discusses in kid friendly terms what anxiety is (worry) and has them write or draw pictures as it goes throughout discussing what worries are, why people seem to have more than others, how it makes our body and mind feel, and then coping techniques. The kids seem to be really enjoying it and it’s prompting some great discussions. So far I highly recommend it, anything that engages the kids this well and helps them discuss their concerns and gives them an emotional vocabulary is a win in my book. 🙂

Pictures of the kids’ artwork to come, they want to show off their drawings. C’s is cracking me up.

These are three different sources of worries. The worry bully makes the worms to go inside of you & the worry worms make the worries. (The bully has no hands but uses the grappling hooks to get on your shoulder and get inside of you.) With the worry worm it burrows inside of you and if you don’t listen it uses its slapper to slap you! (He saw some science show about parasitic worms, I’ll spare you that explanation, it was gross.) The worry gas is what makes the Worry make you worry.

Ben’s worry (spelled “worey” down the side.) This is a bad house and a dream catcher to catch his bad dream and there’s a pea shooter coming to help and it killed the bad guys.

Table of Contents:
1. Are you growing worries?
2. What is a worry?
3. How do worries get started?
4. Making worries go away?
5. Spending less time on worries.
6. Talking back to worries.
7. Re-setting your system.
8. Keeping worries away.
9. You can do it!

Exercises:
– draw something you worry about
– do you know someone else who worries?
– how does worry make your body feel (stomach, heart, etc)
– what is something you can say or do to help you worry less about your fear?
– set up worry time (15 minutes) and make a worry time sign
– imagine a worry box & draw a picture of it; put your worries there until worry time
– imagine a worry bully & draw a picture of it.
– What will you say to the worry bully?
– What can you do to stay busy while ignoring the bully?
– Draw the worry giving up and going away.
– Draw a list of activities you can do to reset your system.
– Write a list of relaxing things you can do to reset your system: meditation, deep breathing, tense & relax muscles, warm bath, massage, visualize happy memory.
– Draw a picture of a special memory or place.
– What do you do to take good care of yourself? Draw it.
– Draw yourself doing something you are good at.
– Draw yourself without your worries.

Key Points:
– Logic is when you think about what is really true instead of what you fear.
– Resetting your system with activity or with relaxation.