First Aid for your Child's Mind

Alicia Eaton

Description

Author Alicia Eaton is a Wellness Expert who
specialises in Behavioural Change and Emotional Wellbeing.  She’s run a successful practice in London’s
Harley Street for over 14 years and has become widely recognised for her work
in helping children overcome problems, including anxiety, confidence,
bedwetting and eating issues.

She’s the author of best-selling books ‘Stop
Bedwetting in 7 Days’, ‘Words that Work: How to Get Kids to Do Almost Anything’
and ‘Fix Your Life with NLP’.

 In this book she uses all her skills and
knowledge to come up with fast and immediate solutions for helping children
overcome feelings of worry and anxiety. Whilst feeling anxious is a natural reaction to stressful
situations, left unchecked these feelings can interfere with a young child’s
daily routines, healthy development and academic progress.  They can even leave scars for life.

Currently, children suffering from anxiety
related issues are referred to CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health
Services) for which there is often a waiting list of several months.  In Alicia’s experience, delays in treating
symptoms of anxiety result in habitual thinking patterns which then become
harder to treat.  This new “First Aid Kit” will enable parents to
dispense the right kind of help as and when it’s needed.

Introduction 1

SECTION 1 – MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL 7

Chapter 1: Anxiety: what’s it all about? 9

Chapter 2: How your child’s mind works 17

SECTION 2 – STEPS TO SUCCESS 25

Chapter 3: Detox your environment 27

Chapter 4: Let’s talk 35

Chapter 5: Tools to help 53

SECTION 3 – FIRST AID TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES 59

Chapter 6: Let’s relax 61

Chapter 7: Psycho-sensory therapies 75

Chapter 8: Visualisation techniques 85

SECTION 4 – PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE 113

Chapter 9: General worries 115

Chapter 10: Stage fright, auditions, interviews 125

Chapter 11: Phobia: fear of dogs 131

Chapter 12: Fear of spiders and snakes 137

Chapter 13: Medical anxiety: doctors, injections and germs 143

Chapter 14: School refusal 149

Chapter 15: Bullying 157

Chapter 16: Exam stress 165

Chapter 17: Travel anxiety: fear of fl ying 171

Chapter 18: Sleep problems 177

A final note 183

Notes 185

Useful contact details 187

Also by Alicia Eaton 189

About the author 191

Sujets

• Vie de famille
• Parentalité et Éducation des Enfants
• Parentalité
• Parentalité
• Parentalité
• Phobias
• Anxieties
• Psychopathology
• Parenting
• Psychology
• Children
• Child
• Adolescence

Informations

• Publié par: Practical Inspiration Publishing
• Date de parution: 24 octobre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781788601160
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

FIRST AID for your CHILD’S MIND
“Another brilliant book from Alicia Eaton. Full of practical suggestions and common sense, this is a book for parents wishing to encourage their children to be well-rounded, independent thinkers.”
Lorrine Marer – Children’s Behavioural Specialist Channel 5’s ‘The Teen Tamer’ and ‘Families Behaving Badly’
“This book will come as a huge relief to so many parents by helping them understand that much anxiety is actually part of everyday childhood worries and doesn’t need to be catastrophised. Alicia Eaton gives so much practical advice with simple strategies that can be implemented immediately. Parents will feel calmer and their children will have a greater sense of wellbeing.”
Elaine Halligan – Director of The Parent Practice Author of ‘My Child’s Different’
“A comprehensive practical guide that will help children lead healthier, more productive and happier lives. A must read for every parent who has an interest in positive psychology and wishes their child to flourish with a growth mindset. Alicia Eaton delivers a masterpiece with clarity and sensitivity.”
Jason Pegler – CEO of mental health publisher Chimpmunka Author of ‘A Can of Madness’
“In a world where there are so many anxious situations for kids, this book is invaluable. Working with students with learning differences, I see anxiety as the number one disrupter of behaviour and education. This book will help children develop invaluable lifelong skills, that are vital to everyone.”
Olive Hickmott – Learning Coach, Director of Empowering Learning Author of ‘Bridges to Success’ and ‘The Elephants in the Classroom’
“ First Aid for your Child’s Mind is a great resource for every parent’s bookshelf. In the 20 years I’ve been working with families and supporting parents with children’s anger and anxiety related issues, this is the book I have been searching for. Clearly laid out and accessible, it gives comprehensive and helpful information so parents can support their anxious child more easily.”
Dan Jones – Hypnotherapist, Wellbeing Specialist: ‘The Mind Changers’ Mental health awareness YouTuber and author of ‘Relaxing Tales for Children’ and ‘Sleepy Bedtime Tales’
ALSO BY ALICIA EATON
WORDS THAT WORK: How to get kids to do almost anything
“ Words that Work has some wonderful insights and I particularly love the chapter about the power and influence of your words on a child’s life. A great read and I highly recommend that you grab your copy now.”
Sue Atkins – ITV ‘This Morning’ Parenting Expert Author of ‘Parenting Made Easy’
“This is a very useful book for any parent of young children. Alicia will make you consider what you say and how you say it.”
Felix Economakis – Counselling Psychologist: BBC’s ‘The Panic Room’and ‘Freaky Eaters’ Author of ‘Harden Up’
“Alicia has a real gift for communicating complex ideas in a way that makes them easy to incorporate into your daily routine. I highly recommend her work.”
Michael Neill – Supercoach, Hay House radio host Author of ‘The Inside-Out Revolution’ and ‘Supercoach’
“If you have children this book will allow you to fully enjoy the wonderful experience of being a parent. Alicia has the gift of explaining complex psychology in an engaging and interesting manner.”
Dr Stephen Simpson – Elite Mind Coach, Tedx Speaker Best-selling author and Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine
STOP BEDWETTING in 7 DAYS
“Stop Bedwetting in 7 Days is a very good book. I have found it to be clear, effective and have recommended it to a number of my patients.”
Dr Anne Wright – Consultant Paediatrician, Evelina Children’s Hospital
“This book brings together the best of modern thinking and neurological development and I have no hesitation in recommending it.”
Dr Mark Chambers – GP Trainer and Integrated Healthcare Practitioner
“I have used this book with a number of patients and highly recommend this very effective method of treating this embarrassing problem.”
Dr Jo Waddell – GP and NLP Trainer

First published in Great Britain by
Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2019
© Alicia Eaton, 2019
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
ISBN 978-1-78860-117-7
All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof, may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author.
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.
The information contained in this book is intended to be educational and not for diagnosis, prescription or treatment of any kind of health disorder whatsoever. This information should not replace consultation with a competent health care professional should you be concerned about your child’s mental health. The author and publisher are in no way liable for any misuse of the material.
I dedicate this book to the memory of my father Andrzej Olson (1930–2018) who showed us that it’s possible to go through the worst of times and turn them into the best.
Acknowledgements
I’ve had the good fortune to meet and be trained by some of the wisest people on the planet and I thank them for sharing their wisdom and ideas. Because of them, I’ve been able to develop my practice and create programmes that have helped so many children overcome their problems and difficulties more easily. Paul McKenna is at the top of that list for ‘changing my life’ so I could go on to do the same for so many others; followed by Richard Bandler, co-creator of NLP; Michael Neill for his ‘inside-out’ thinking; Dr Roger Callahan for his creation of TFT (Thought Field Therapy); Dr Ronald Ruden and his brother Dr Steven Ruden for Havening Techniques; Olive Hickmott for her work with mental imagery in education; Dr Tom Barber and Dr Sandra Westland for teaching me about psychotherapy and hypnosis and also, the work of Dr Maria Montessori which continues to influence me greatly.
And thank you too, to the many friends and colleagues with whom it’s always a pleasure to discuss ideas – I learn something new from every conversation however fleeting, in particular Toni McGuinness, Michele Paradise and Dr Stephen Simpson.
I thank too: Alison Jones of Practical Inspiration Publishing for her patience as I chopped and changed things around a thousand times, Liz Carrington for her artistic guidance and Emily Calnan for her book cover design.
Last but by no means least, the three shining lights in my life: George, Thomas and Clementine.
Contents
Introduction
SECTION 1 – MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL
Chapter 1: Anxiety: what’s it all about?
Chapter 2: How your child’s mind works
SECTION 2 – STEPS TO SUCCESS
Chapter 3: Detox your environment
Chapter 4: Let’s talk
– Expressing emotions
– Words that work
– Meeting as a family
Chapter 5: Tools to help
– Measurement scales
– Getting a goal in place
– Reward systems
– Keeping a diary or journal
SECTION 3 – FIRST AID TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES
Chapter 6: Let’s relax
– Breathing techniques
– Mindfulness made easy
– Montessori Silence Game
Chapter 7: Psycho-sensory therapies
– Thought Field Therapy – the Tapping technique
– Havening
Chapter 8: Visualisation techniques
– About Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
– Learning how to change mental images
– Changing scary pictures
– Creating a Volume Control
– Stop that thought
– Spinning anxious feelings away
– In two minds
– Anchoring
– Supersize your confidence
– Your bright, new, shiny future
SECTION 4 – PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE
Chapter 9: General worries
– The Worry Box
– Positive Thinking
Chapter 10: Stage fright, auditions, interviews
– Hannah’s story
Chapter 11: Fear of dogs
– Imani’s story
Chapter 12: Fear of spiders and snakes
– Cameron’s story
Chapter 13: Fear of doctors, injections and germs
– Vijay’s story
Chapter 14: School refusal
– Liam’s story
Chapter 15: Bullying
– Isobel’s story
Chapter 16: Exam stress
– Kiara’s story
Chapter 17: Travel anxiety: fear of flying
– Xavier’s story
Chapter 18: Sleep problems
– Emilie’s story
A final note
Notes
Useful contact details
Also by Alicia Eaton
About the author
Introduction
We often hear that today’s children are more stressed than previous generations. Growing up in an environment with worrying news items about the threat of terrorism or climate change, an endless stream of school exams and online social media bullying all contribute to a heightened sense of anxiety. Our new found ‘connectivity’ seems to have become a blessing and a curse.
Even when children are having fun playing computer games, their bodies produce an adrenaline rush that never quite gets burned off. These feelings of worry and ‘generalised anxiety’, as it’s called, can quickly spill over into all areas of life.
I’ve been helping children in my Harley Street clinic overcome and manage feelings of anxiety for over 15 years, so I know the harsh and long-term consequences these can have if they’re left unchecked. Anxiety can set back a young child’s emotional growth and hamper performance in every area of their life. It will stop your child from making friends, taking part in social activities, sitting exams successfully and fulfilling their potential.
Ironically, worrying about a child’s anxiety has become a major cause of stress for parents. Anxiety spreads through the home like an invisible gas – everyone can feel it but no-one’s quite sure what it is. All we know is that ‘it’s catching’.
Each time an anxious child comes to see me, I see a little bit of myself in them, for I know what it’s like to be a frightened child. I know what it’s like to feel very, very scared. I know what it’s like to hear voices and see shadowy figures in the dark corners of the bedroom when there’