9 Simple Ways to Teach Kids to Cope with Stress

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It’s a wild and crazy world out there.

Kids who are too anxious to go to school.

Kids who worry that something bad will happen to them.

Kids who feel like they never measure up.

The mental health of children is a growing concern. When I first began school counseling over 25+ years ago it was rare to have a child referred for anxiety. By the time I left the field, I was running a regular group for students with anxiety. One startling report indicates that the average high school student today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950’s!

What has changed?

• Despite technology, we are more socially disconnected than ever
• Our expectations for our children are higher than ever
•  We are more informed than ever and constantly inundated with bad news

How can we help kids not only survive in uncertain times but also thrive?

Meet Wyatt the Wonder Dog

The best thing we can all do to help kids cope in these turbulent and uncertain times is to give them the support and reassurance they need through teaching core values that don’t change. Kids who have someone who believes in their ability to do hard things, develop into adults who take challenges and success both in stride.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog has been doing just that for over ten years.

Here are Nine Tips to Help Kids Conquer Anxiety

Help kids develop a routine: Knowing what to expect within a regular time frame is reassuring for us all. Maintain a normal routine whenever possible and teach kids how to create a schedule and healthy, productive habits in their lives.

Wyatt Learns about Being Organized

It’s time to catch the school bus and Wyatt can’t find anything.  Where is his backpack?  his lunch money? Wyatt is about to learn a valuable lesson about the importance of being organized and the benefits of planning ahead.  This adorable story offers simple helpful ideas that kids and parents can use to make life less stressful and more fun.

If you’ve ever lost your lunch money or misplaced your favorite toy, you can relate to Wyatt.  this adorable story offers simple, helpful ideas that kids and parents can use to make life less stressful and more fun! ! Erin K. Casey, author of Zany Zia’s Hats to Where

Teach problem solving skills: We all face challenges and conflicts. Prepare kids for friendship problems by teaching them cooperation skills as well as how stand up for themselves in a positive way.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Cooperation

Wyatt wants to play Frisbee. Max wants to build a fort and Callie wants to have a tea party. How do the three friends reconcile their differences? Can it be done? When Wyatt doesn’t get his way, Max’s mother suggests he be the Superhero for the day. Join Wyatt as he learns how the magic of cooperation and compromise can bring the five friends closer together.

Feeling left out? Need help getting along with friends? Wyatt the Wonder Dog books weave important life skills into engaging story telling. Join Wyatt as he learns how to be the superhero in his group of friends by using cooperation and compromise.

~MaryFrances Gonzalez MACCC-SLP

Teach kids how to get better at getting along: Teach kids that good manners between friends and family are important. Having an honest, heartfelt conversation with someone when things aren’t going well is a necessary part of friendship.

Wyatt Learns about Good Manners

Wyatt is always wondering about something and lately it is how to get his friend, Max to change his bossy ways. What can he do? Join Wyatt as he considers some rather unusual options until he finally discovers that a heart-to-heart talk with Max can create a new friendship with an old friend.

Have you ever had a friend that did some things that you disagreed with? Wyatt does and he doesn’t know what to do about it. Join Wyatt as he learns that being honest with his friend is the best and only way to solve the problem. A great story!

~Lynn Hughes M.Ed. professional school counselor, Ball Ground Elementary

Teach kids to embrace change and new experiences: Today more than ever, the world is a rapidly changing place. Encourage kids to try new things, even when they seem challenging or difficult.

Wyatt Goes to Kindergarten

Wyatt has never liked change, at least not at first.  Once he tries something new, he usually finds he really likes it.  Now that he is about to begin kindergarten, Wyatt is really worried.  Will he make friends?  Will he get lost in the new school?  Will he miss his mom?  Join Wyatt in his latest “wonder-full” adventure!

This book is destined to be a classic in every home and kindergarten classroom.  It is a fun and gentle way to introduce young children to that every exciting-but scary big step in their lives–the first day kindergarten. ~Deanna Trott, Kindergarten, First Grade Teacher

 

Teach Kids Mindfulness Practices: Mindfulness helps kids to slow down and reduce stress in our busy distracting world. It includes teaching kids to pay attention, to listen without judgement, to be accepting of self and others and to use calming breathing to reduce stress.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Listening

Wyatt the Wonder Dog is back in this delightful story that teaches children why listening is important and how to become good listeners. Children will relate to Wyatt’s experience of missing out on the fun and making everyone late for Grandma’s party. They’ll learn that being a good listener takes practice, but it’s so worth it in the end!

My students love the Wyatt the Wonder Dog Series and the new book is a great addition. They learn that not only is listening important to being a good student, it is also important in being a good friend!
~Lindsay Tucker,  Professional School Counselor, Jo Byrns Elementary School, Cedar Hill, TN

Teach Kids a Growth Mindset: Mindset matters and teaching kids to have a positive, can-do attitude, even when faced with failure goes a long way to reducing stress and anxiety.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Mindset

Wyatt the Wonder Dog didn’t make it on the All Star baseball team and he feels like a loser.  All his friends will be playing baseball this summer, while he and his pesky sister, Callie, visit grandparents at the beach.  How Wyatt learns to handle disappointment and failure will be an important lesson for the future.  Will he give up trying new things?  Will he have the confidence to try again?  Are there some things that take more practice and persistence to learn than others?

This book is funny! Its dogs doing things that only people do! I learned to try new things. ~ ~Samuel Traub, Age 6

 

Teach Kids about Empathy and Community: Understanding and caring how others feel makes the world a better place. Everyone has a need to belong, and it takes everyone to create a community of caring.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Friendship

It’s not easy being the new kid at school, especially if you are a cat and everyone else is a dog.  How do you make friends?  Can you even be friends with someone who is totally different from you?  Wyatt the Wonder Dog helps solve Ami’s friendship problem with empathy and compassion. A great story for teaching children the critical life skill of making friends.

As a public-school elementary counselor, Wyatt offers so much about making and keeping friends.  I will use this book as a resource for whole classroom, small group and individual discussions, raising issues that affect real life situations.

~Cindy Little, Professional School Counselor, Georgia Elementary School, Milton Vermont

 

Teach Kids about Teamwork and Collaboration: Teamwork isn’t just working together cooperatively. It’s also about recognizing everyone’s unique abilities and using those strengths to achieve goals and make the world a better place.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Teamwork

Camping with his Boy Scout Troop is exciting and fun… until Max takes a serious fall while hiking.  When Wyatt and the rest of the Scouts use their emergency training to get Max safely out of the woods, they learn the value of teamwork and the power of community to achieve big goals.

Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Teamwork is another great example of helping kids improve their social skills. It teaches kids the power of working together and how much better we are when we work as a community.

~Melissa Toren Hrin, Professional School Counselor, Beverly Cleary School, Portland, OR

 

Teach kids to be generous: Helping kids to develop a servant heart and recognize that everyone has something to give and enrich the lives of others, creates a purpose filled life.

Wyatt Learns about Giving

It’s almost Christmas and Wyatt the Wonder Dog is wondering how long he will have to wait until the big day and what gifts he will get.  His mother, however, has a more important question, “What will you give for Christmas?”  Join Wyatt as he learns a valuable lesson about how anyone can be generous and giving at Christmas and all through the year.

With Wyatt the Wonder Dog as their guide, children learn the value of generosity and what it means to give from the heart. Lynne Watts deftly weaves this powerful lesson in a delightfully entertaining story sure to appeal to both children and parents.

~ Martha Jane Orlando, author of Children in the Garden

 

We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future. Franklin D. Roosevelt