It’s no secret that wide-spread anxiety permeates parenting in the age of school shootings … but it’s devastating for kids, too. National research shows anxiety has increased significantly in children ages 3 – 17 over the last five years. Research also reveals that if a parent has anxiety, their child is seven times more likely to have it, too.
This catch-22 is at the heart of local author and therapist Sissy Goff’s new book, The Worry-Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can, Too (Bethany House) coming out next month.
Goff is the director of Daystar Counseling Ministries, located just three miles from The Covenant School in Nashville. She raced to assist families after the school shooting that Monday, March 27. She was also tapped to discuss how parents and kids can navigate forward by CNN; Good Morning America; NBC Nightly News and others in the shooting’s aftermath.
“I know the heartache and panic that comes with trying to walk kids through trauma,” Goff says. “Parents today are trying harder than ever to do all they can to love their kids,” she adds.
Raise Worry-Free Kids
But love does not equal worry.
Goff’s new book couldn’t be more timely. With school starting up next month, parents need preparation about how to talk with their kids, no matter the subject. But in reality, anxiety-ridden parents must deal with their own issues in order not to pass anxiousness on to their kids.
“I truly believe that parents who examine their own lives and deal with their own stuff are giving the very best gift to the next generation,” Goff says.
The Worry-Free Parent (and its companion workbook) are designed to help parents uncover the roots of their anxiety. In addition, parents can learn how to process anxiety in healthy ways, model bravery to their kids and discover more joyful connections with them.
“I would tell the struggling, concerned parent, ‘I see you. You’re brave enough to look at how your life impacts your kids,” says Goff.
Five core truths about anxiety are also explored in Goff’s books including how it impacts the body and how to help an anxious heart.
With school days around the bend along with unknowns about the future, parents everywhere can benefit from Goff’s expertise, ultimately being of great help to their kids.
Preorder your book at raisingboysandgirls.com/store or on Amazon.com. The book is available as a hardcover $29.99; paperback $17.99; or Kindle $13.49.
