What to Do When You Don't Want to Be Apart - (What-To-Do Guides for Kids) by Kristen Lavallee & Silvia Schneider (Paperback)

About the Book

This interactive self-help book is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering children to overcome separation anxiety.

Book Synopsis

Hot air balloon pilots have wonderful adventures, where they get to see things they have never seen before and learn all about the world outside.

Flying a hot air balloon sounds like a lot of fun to some kids. But for other kids, the idea of flying off on their own, away from their parents or homes, doesn't sound like fun at all. If you feel scared when you do something alone or away from your parents, this book is for you!

What to Do When You Don't Want to Be Apart guides children and their parents through the emotions underlying separation anxiety using strategies and techniques based on cognitive-behavioral principles. This interactive self-help book is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering children to overcome separation anxiety--so they can become the confident pilots of their very own hot air balloons!

Review Quotes

"My son struggles with separation anxiety, so I was excited to read this book with him. From the very first pages, he found the book appealing.... Reading this book made him feel hopeful and empowered. We both recommend it." --Tulsa Book Review

"Lavallee and Schneider bring together their collective wisdom in this interactive self-help book for parents and their young children who have separation concerns and anxiety. Separation anxiety prevents many children from enjoying their friends, families, and school. Using the metaphor of flying in a hot air balloon and based on their lifelong clinical research, they provide specific exercises and strategies based on established cognitive-behavioral principles for helping children overcome excessive separation anxiety. It clearly explains--in an engaging story format--the steps parents and children can take to overcome such anxieties and to lead a worry-free life. This is a practical 'what-to-do' book that will benefit many parents and their children. It is a book that will be welcome not only by parents but by clinicians who are looking for such materials to provide families." --Thomas H. Ollendick, PhD, Director Child Study Center, Virginia Tech

"What to Do When You Don't Want to Be Apart offers a nonjudgmental approach to getting a handle on kids' separation anxiety with the ultimate goal of leading a richer life." --Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Kristen Lavallee, PhD, co-author of What to Do When You Don't Want to Be Apart, is a developmental and school psychologist, and has worked with children in the U.S. and Switzerland. She has coauthored empirical studies and a book chapter on treatment for separation anxiety, and is managing editor of the scientific journal European Psychologist. She lives with her family in Providence, RI.

Silvia Schneider, Dr. rer. nat., co-author of What to Do When You Don't Want to Be Apart, is a professor of child clinical psychology at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. She has conducted several studies on childhood separation anxiety disorder (SAD), and authored a treatment manual in German for SAD.

Janet McDonnell's illustrations combine traditional media and digital techniques. In addition to illustrating books, magazines, and puzzles, Janet has both taught and written for children from preschool to high school ages. She is the illustrator of numerous books for children including Bye Bye Pesky Fly, What to Do When You Don't Want to Be Apart, and Blossom Plays Possum. Visit www.janetmcdonnell.com and follow Facebook: @janetmcdonnell.illustrator Twitter: @dcdonnelldoodle Instagram: @janetmcdonnellillo.