A practical parenting resource to understanding and relieving anxiety in kids, including 15 tools and workbook exercises to do with your children to manage their fears and worry less.

Being the parent of a smart child is great—until your son or daughter starts asking whether global warming is real, if you are going to die, and what will happen if they don't get into college. Kids who are advanced intellectually often experience fears beyond their years. And parents are left asking, why does my child worry so much?

Anxiety is the number one mental health issue for children in the U.S. In this practical parenting resource, psychotherapist Allison Edwards guides you through the mental and emotional process of where your child's fears come from and why they are so hard to move past.

Answers questions such as:

• How do smart kids think differently?
• How do I know if my child has anxiety (including a checklist)?
• What is the root of my child's anxiety and how can we overcome it?
• Should I let my child watch the nightly news on TV?
• How do I answer questions about terrorists, climate change, death, and other scary subjects?

This is a must-have guide for parents looking for a kid-friendly toolkit for emotionally intelligent, observant, and inquisitive children who want to overcome anxiety.

Praise for Why Smart Kids Worry:

"Therapist Edwards brings profound insight into the minds of gifted, anxious children in this parent-friendly handbook" —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"As a parent with anxiety as well as a child with anxiety, this was a really great manual." —Jessica Chiles

"As a psychologist who works with children, I can honestly say this will be one book I will be adding to my borrowing library for parents to read." —Kerry Marsh, LibraryThing

Allison Edwards, author of the best-selling book Why Smart Kids Worry, gives a glimpse into the ways worry whispers to young minds, and offers a powerful tool all children can use to silence those fears.

"Worry's songs tie my tummy up in knots, and the things he says make my heart beat very fast. Sometimes he speaks in a whisper, and other times his voice gets so loud I can't hear anything else."

Worry and anxiety are currently the top mental health issues among children and teens. Children have a number of worries throughout childhood that will come and go. The problem is not with the worries themselves, but that children believe the worries to be true. With a relatable story and beautiful artwork, Worry Says What? will help children (and adults) flip their thinking when anxious thoughts begin and turn them into powerful reminders of all they are capable of accomplishing.

A Brain-Based Guide to Help Children Regulate Emotions.

When your brain perceives danger, your body and mind will go instantly into one of three modes-flight, fight, or freeze. Your heart races, your body tenses up, your hands shake, and your emotions take over rational thought.

You've entered The Flood Zone.

When children experience The Flood Zone, their behavior changes. They yell, bite, or run away. They withdraw and lose concentration. They blame and lie. In this state, children are unable to be rational, regulated, or otherwise compliant. Even the most motivated child (or adult) with the greatest coping strategies won't be able to identify or manage their emotions in The Flood Zone.

In Flooded, counselor and bestselling author, Allison Edwards explains how parents, teachers, and counselors can identify when children have entered The Flood Zone. She also offers suggestions for teaching children (and adults!) how to regain control of their emotions.

In this book, you'll get:

• An overview of how the brain interacts with emotions
• Understanding of the role of trauma in emotional health
• Explanation of why children can't respond rationally in stressful circumstances
• Techniques for teaching children how to regulate emotions
• Suggestions for setting up your classroom or office to improve emotional awareness
• Strategies for improving interactions with children at school and home

As educators, parents, and professionals, we need to teach children and teens how to identify their emotions, learn what triggers those feelings, and provide strategies to manage their feelings in a healthy way. This book explains how.

Give Kids the Tools They Need to Control Their Emotions.

Allison Edwards' How to Crack Your Peanut helps kids understand why they sometimes lose control and make bad decisions. When kids learn how the brain works, they can begin to listen to their bodies and control their emotions.

Diego doesn't understand why he always seems to lose his temper and lash out at people. He begins to feel like something is wrong with him and wonders if he is a bad kid. With the help of his counselor, Dr. B, Diego learns that the reason he acts the way he does is because of a peanut-shaped part of his brain called the amygdala.

Once he discovers how his brain works, Diego understands why his body feels out of control when he is angry or overwhelmed. Will the three tricks he learns from Dr. B help him keep his peanut calm, cool, and collected?

This gentle introduction to emotion regulation will help children realize they are not bad kids who make bad choices. They are good kids who can learn to control their emotions and make better choices, no matter the situation.

The counselor is not the strategy. The counselor teaches strategies.

As counselors, we spend our days helping kids. Kids come to us with a variety of problems, searching for answers. They want us to listen. And they need us to give them solutions for the issues they are facing.

While these solutions may work temporarily, we really never help kids until we give them tools - or techniques - to manage thoughts and feelings on their own. Our job is not to do it for them. Our job is to teach them how to do it themselves! This is the greatest gift we can give.

In 15-Minute Counseling Techniques, Allison Edwards provides tools to use in individual or group counseling sessions with children in grades K-12. Children will learn how to calm their mind and body with Square Breathing, let go of negative thoughts by Changing the Channel, identify their unique gifts by creating a "What I'm Good At" Jar, and so much more.

The techniques in this book will help children feel empowered to face everyday challenges and equipped to manage their stress and emotions. And, best of all, you will give them the confidence they need to handle challenges throughout their lives.

Help Kids Understand and Value ALL of Their Emotions and Feelings

What do you do with all your feelings?

In Marcy's Having All the Feels, counselor and therapist Allison Edwards explores how sometimes feeling so many feelings doesn't feel so good at all.

Marcy wanted to be happy. Happy is all she wanted to be. But all her other feelings kept showing up and at the worst times! There was Frustrated and Angry, Sad and Embarrassed, and even Worried and Jealous. Her feelings were there as soon as she opened her eyes each morning, and they followed her around throughout the day. Some days all these feelings just felt like a little too much and she wanted to hide!

Marcy didn't want to feel angry or jealous. And she didn't like feeling sad or embarrassed. Why couldn't she be happy all the time? Then one day when Marcy's feelings disappear, she learns that her feelings don't have to control her, and they might even have a function.

Maybe having all the feels might not be such a bad thing. And that one discovery? Well, it changes everything!