We live in a chaotic and often unpredictable world, so it's only natural for you and your child to have anxieties. But seeing your child cry, cling to you, or even use aggression to avoid his or her own fears and worries may cause you to worry even more, trapping both of you in a cycle of anxiety and fear.

You can interrupt this cycle with the proven-effective mindfulness and acceptance skills taught in this book. Drawn from acceptance and commitment therapy, Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance offers a new way to think about your child's anxiety, as well as a set of techniques used by child psychologists to help children as young as four let go of anxious feelings and focus instead on relationships with friends, learning new things in school, and having fun. You'll learn these techniques, use them when you feel anxious, and teach them to your child. With practice, you both will let go of anxious feelings and your child will find the confidence to enjoy being a kid.

Reviews

"McCurry breaks new ground by applying acceptance and commitmenttherapy to the treatment of anxiety disorders in children. His approach isbased on solid principles and offers understandable and practical guidelinesto help parents treat this common but often misunderstood condition."
-- James T. Grimm, MD, MPH, child psychiatrist in Eugene, OR

"This book is a tremendous contribution to parents who want to help theirchildren with the spectrum of anxieties that can hinder optimal development.McCurry provides a whole range of techniques that parents can use tohelp their children accept and handle anxious feelings that can cripple themin their daily lives. He is a stellar guide to this new and exciting approach.Without a doubt, this book will be valuable to parents and therapists alikewho want to help build children's social and emotional competence througheffective management of anxiety."
-- Laura Kastner, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Universityof Washington

"For years I've looked in vain for books on acceptance-based strategies foranxious children and their parents. McCurry's book was well worth thewait. His crystal clear writing, sprinkled with humor and touching self-disclosure, makes techniques such as validation and mindfulness immediatelyunderstandable and accessible. As a scientist-practitioner, I'm impressedwith McCurry's thoughtful consideration of current developmental researchin the formulation of his clinical model and recommendations. The bookcontains many useful and concrete strategies for helping parents to regulatetheir own thoughts and feelings in order to help their child stand up toanxiety."
-- Matthew L. Speltz, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of WashingtonSchool of Medicine and chief of outpatient psychiatryservices at Children's Hospital and Regional MedicalCenter in Seattle, WA

"This book is an awesome and timely parent re