"Girls today have greater expectations but less hope than children in generations past."
In "Raising Worry-Free Girls: Helping Your Daughter Feel Braver, Stronger, and Smarter in an Anxious World," Sissy Goff has created a worthy conversation starter for parents and children. Though focused on girls and daughters, the book is applicable to all genders and ages.
"If we solve our kids' problems for them, they don't develop the ability to problem-solve, which I believe is one of the primary deterrents of anxiety."
From square breathing to mind platters to gratitude jars, Goff shares a number of exercises and tools that are helpful to kids -- and adults -- of all ages. The author also touches on the benefits of exposure therapy and includes a useful list of anxiety types.
This book pulls from a number of resources to back up the activities, and some statistics are jarring -- for instance, the revelation that, over the last 30 years, we've shortened the childhood of girls by a year and a half.
"Research shows that one of the biggest predictors of anxiety in kids is anxiety in parents.
"It perpetuates for several reasons, one of which is that our fear sometimes gets in the way of them doing what they need to do to work through their fear.
"Our goal is for the child you love to know that she is smart, capable, brave, strong, and resilient. We want her to grow in her grit."
Especially near the end of the book, there is a deep religious bent that may be off-putting to some readers. However, the message and its importance are universal, making "Raising Worry-Free Girls" a good resource for parents and their children.
"The kids we love are getting the message that the unspeakable happens, but we're not preparing them for the daily troubles that make up life."
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