Click here for the PDF version of this article
Stressed Out!
Mary Ann Richey and James W. Forgan, Ph.D
Prufrock Press Inc.
paperback, $17.95, 146pp.
ISBN-13: 978-1-61821-619-9
Stressed Out! has solutions to help your child manage and overcome stress. And while people are reading this for their children, they ought to also learn about stress for themselves.
Section 1: Principals of Stress
Chapter 1: Put Stress on your Parenting Agenda
Chapter 2: Stressed, Anxious, or Both?
Chapter 3: Helpful Versus Harmful Stress
Chapter 4: Perception of Stressors
Chapter 5: Mimimize Negative Stress
Section II: Stress is Everywhere
Chapter 6: Stress in School
Chapter 7: Stress in the Community
Chapter 8: Stress in the Family
Conclusion
Resources for Parents
Resources for Kids
References
About the Authors
Mary Ann Richey and James W. Forgan, Ph.D have made this book so easy to read. Each chapter has a box with a Key Point and a Thinking Point. They provide colored paragraphs with examples of real life stories. There are tables, books, games, and activities. It is all so brief yet full of important information. You can even carry it around to use whenever a question pops into your mind.
Here are some main statements from Chapter 5, Negative stress:
- Continue to educate yourself.
- Educate your child but by bit.
- Don’t forget the impact of modeling.
- Be present for your child and really listen.
- Be patient.
- Be mindful of your child’s developmental age.
- Empower your child to be a problem solver.
- Teach self-discipline.
- Praise and reinforce effort more than the results.
- Lead with the Positive.
- Have realistic expectations.
- Provide downtime.
- Find your child’s passions.
- Encourage independence.
- Help your child understand that mistakes happen.
- Encourage your child to have a growth mindset.
- Help your child use “positive self-talk.”
- Predictability and structure go a long way in helping a child manage stress.
- Remember that children have big ears.
- Help your child learn proactive, healthy ways to handle stress.
- Make sure you are providing healthy, nourishing meals, physical activity, and adequate sleep.
- “Laughter is good medicine.”
It’s not that we don’t know all these wisdoms; it’s that we forget and need constant reminders. If the average child has stress, then our gifted have extra stress because they see details not seen to others. Stressed Out! applies them even more.
Elaine S. Wiener is Associate Editor for Book Reviews for the Gifted Education Communicator and can be reached at 17elaine@att.net.