New books for children for dealing with anxiety released
We all experience anxiety at times in our lives and often it can be triggered by an event. The children of Christchurch and their families experienced a 'new normal' in the months and years following the ongoing earthquakes.
Two picture books are newly released 'Wishes and Worries' by Sarina Dickson and 'Maia and the Worry Bug' by Julie Burgess-Manning, beautifully illustrated by Jenny Cooper and endorsed by All Right?.
Through the generosity of The Canterbury Community Trust and The Canterbury Earthquake Appeal Trust a copy of 'Wishes and Worries' will be gifted to each Year 1 to 4 class in Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri.
A copy of 'Maia and the Worry Bug' will be gifted to each child in these classes (as well as the Canterbury Homeschool Network) to take home and share with their families.
Visit the Worry Bug website for more information or to order your own copy of these books.
"Both books are terrific resources for helping young children and families to better understand anxiety and how to deal with it. They are age-appropriate, engaging, well written, and well-illustrated. The exercises at the end of each book provide great guidelines for further exploring anxiety, its effect on us, and how to manage it more effectively. The exercises are clearly based on cognitive behaviour therapy, which if done well, has been shown to reduce anxiety. I would whole-heartedly suggest that Christchurch schools and parents make use of these great resources." - Children’s Commissioner Dr Russell Wills.
Wishes and Worries by Sarina Dickson
Dan is always listening for the sounds of danger. He is listening so hard that sometimes he doesn’t hear the people around him. His Mum and his teacher wish he would pay attention! If only they knew how hard Dan was trying and how much he wished his worries would vanish.
This book is designed to be read aloud in the classroom, and then used in conjunction with the exercises included to address mild to moderate anxiety in children. The exercises and lesson plan ideas at the back of the book will help children identify their worries, find ways to talk about them, and provide strategies for managing them, and are aligned with the National Curriculum.
Maia and the Worry Bug by Julie Burgess-Manning
Something terrible has happened to Maia’s family, an uninvited Worry Bug has moved in. Having the Worry Bug around is exhausting, and it keeps getting bigger! Can the family work together to get rid of it?
This resource is designed to help families with mild to moderate anxiety manage their worries. After reading the story with your children you will find exercises based on Narrative and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy principles to help you start talking about worry in your family.