The Safe Child Handbook How to Protect Your Family and Cope with Anxiety in a Threat-Filled World

by Dacey, John S.; Fiore, Lisa B

• ISBN13: 9780787986889
• ISBN10: 0787986887
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

We live in a day and age where parents and children are bombarded, seemingly 24/7, with images and stories of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, child abductions, school violence, etc. Is it any wonder why that the Surgeon General reported recently that 13 percent of children in the United States have a diagnosable anxiety disorder--a thirty percent increase from 10 years ago!There is a great need for a book to put all of these threats and risks into proper perspective, a book that offers realistic, viable solutions for protecting children and families, and how to deal with the worries and fears associated with these risks. Using many of the tools and techniques presented in the successful Your Anxious Child (approx. 25,000 net unit sold lifetime) and findings from the latest research, John Dacey and Lisa Fiore have written such a book. The Safe Child Handbook will help parents achieve three significant goals: 1) help prepare and protect their families from realistic threats, 2) alleviate fearfulness and anxiety in their children; 3) calm their own fears and worries about the safety and well being of their children and families. Part 1 introduces the top eight threats to children and families. Each chapter focuses on a specific threat and contains practical, easy to implement steps and advice, all based on the latest research. Part 2 contains two chapters, one focuses on physical activities and games for children to reduce anxiety; the other on techniques and methods to allay parents' fears so they don't exacerbate the fears and stress of their children.

Author Biography

John S. Dacey, Ph.D., is a licensed psychotherapist and has been a professor at Boston College for forty years. He has appeared on Today and National Public Radio and has been interviewed for numerous radio programs, magazines, and newspapers.

Lisa B. Fiore, Ph.D., is a professor of development and educational psychology at Lesley University. Her current research focuses on how teachers can assist anxious children in the classroom context.
Dacey and Fiore are the coauthors of the best-selling book Your Anxious Child from Jossey-Bass.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.

1. "Doing Too Much Is as Risky as Doing Too Little".

PART ONE. ENSURING YOUR CHILD'S SAFETY.

2. Weather Emergencies: "What's Going On with Mother Nature?".

3. Kidnapping: "Don't Go Anywhere Without Me!".

4. Terrorism: "How Are We Supposed to Know What to Do?".

5. Inappropriate Media Influence: "Why Do They Keep Showing That Same Awful Scene?".

6. Drug and Alcohol Abuse: "Do You Want to Wind Up in the Gutter?".

7. Child Abuse: "Who Can You Trust These Days?".

8. School Violence: "You Won't Put My Son by the Windows, Will You?".

9. Making Your House Safe: "Where Are the Dangerous Places?".

PART TWO. ENSURING YOUR FAMILY'S SERENITY.

10. How Can Your Children Cope with Their Fears?

11. How Can You Cope with Your Own and Your Family's Fears?

Appendix: Lists of Internet Sites, by Type of Threat.

References and Further Reading.

About the Authors.