Chapter Three

You are doing a great job connecting in comments, so please continue! Please comment on whatever speaks to you and reply to others' posts - great work!  I love hearing the "practice" piece, so hopefully some of you will reflect on how you are planting seeds and modeling with their kids.  If possible, please share at least one comment and reply to one other person's comment, to keep the discussion going.  

Also, a couple of parents have suggested meeting again face-to-face about halfway through the book.  What do you think?

Chapter 3 key concepts:

• Finding balance
• Catastrophic thinking
• Predictability
• Perfectionism
• Rigidity
• How avoidance strengthens our worry/ how parents strengthen avoidance
• Importance of teaching flexibility

Practice:

•  Plant the seeds of flexibility
• Model the process of flexibility

Goal: Be more like a cat:)

Chapter Three

You are doing a great job connecting in comments, so please continue! Please comment on whatever speaks to you and reply to others' posts - great work!  I love hearing the "practice" piece, so hopefully some of you will reflect on how you are planting seeds and modeling with their kids.  If possible, please share at least one comment and reply to one other person's comment, to keep the discussion going.  

Also, a couple of parents have suggested meeting again face-to-face about halfway through the book.  What do you think?

Chapter 3 key concepts:

• Finding balance
• Catastrophic thinking
• Predictability
• Perfectionism
• Rigidity
• How avoidance strengthens our worry/ how parents strengthen avoidance
• Importance of teaching flexibility

Practice:

•  Plant the seeds of flexibility
• Model the process of flexibility

Goal: Be more like a cat:)

Chapter 2

Excellent discussion, everyone!  Parents asked to combine the chapter elements with the "action" piece at the end of each chapter to keep it simple. Please comment on whatever speaks to you and reply to others' posts - great work!  I love hearing the "practice" piece, so I hope some will reflect on how they plant seeds and model with their kids.  If you haven't commented on chapter 1 elements or homework, you can do it at any time. Everyone please continue to take a peek at previous posts in case new comments crop up.  Again in each post if possible, we would like participants to try to share one response and one reply to another person's response. Thank you!

Themes:

• Tendency, not destiny
• Anxious parents role in perpetuating an anxious response to life
• Why parents help kids avoid

Common parenting patterns that makes sense and don’t work:

• Rescuing, reassuring, and overprotecting
• Providing certainty
• Identifying a child as a worrier because “it runs in the family”
• Requiring family members, friends and schools to accommodate the anxiety
• Allowing “bad” behavior (yelling, swearing, tantrums, hitting, etc.) because it’s a part of the anxiety
• Modeling with your own anxious behavior
• Pushing too hard or becoming angry or explosive

Practice (if you are able to practice in the "homework" section, please share your story!):

• Plant seeds of change on the horizon
• Model the process of positive actions

Chapter Two

Excellent discussion, everyone!  Parents asked to combine the chapter elements with the "action" piece at the end of each chapter to keep it simple. Please comment on whatever speaks to you and reply to others' posts - great work!  I love hearing the "practice" piece, so I hope some will reflect on how they plant seeds and model with their kids.  If you haven't commented on chapter 1 elements or homework, you can do it at any time. Everyone please continue to take a peek at previous posts in case new comments crop up.  Again in each post if possible, we would like participants to try to share one response and one reply to another person's response. Thank you!

Themes:

• Tendency, not destiny
• Anxious parents role in perpetuating an anxious response to life
• Why parents help kids avoid

Common parenting patterns that makes sense and don’t work:

• Rescuing, reassuring, and overprotecting
• Providing certainty
• Identifying a child as a worrier because “it runs in the family”
• Requiring family members, friends and schools to accommodate the anxiety
• Allowing “bad” behavior (yelling, swearing, tantrums, hitting, etc.) because it’s a part of the anxiety
• Modeling with your own anxious behavior
• Pushing too hard or becoming angry or explosive

Practice (if you are able to practice in the "homework" section, please share your story!):

• Plant seeds of change on the horizon
• Model the process of positive actions

Homework from Chapter 1

(Remember to respond to Chapter One discussion below too - this is just the homework piece.)

At the end of each chapter, there is "homework."  Please respond about your experience doing the homework from chapter one (pages 18-19).  You are doing a great job of responding to each other's comments also - keep up the great work!

• Plant the seeds of Optimism and Action
• Model the process of Managing Normal Worry

Chapter One Homework

Even though we haven't had our "Meet and Greet" yet, it looks like people have mostly figured out the blog, so let's start discussing the first chapter!  This week, read chapter one, and when you have finished, respond to the following prompt.  We would like participants to try to share at least one response and 1 reply to another person's response. Thanks!

Please describe your reaction to the concepts in the first chapter:

• Useful worry
• Controlling feelings
• Seeking certainty and comfort, immediately and continually
• Anxious behaviors in children

(Next weekend we will ask you to reflect on your progress in the action plan at the end of the chapter.)

Chapter 1 - Understanding Worry

Even though we haven't had our "Meet and Greet" yet, it looks like people have mostly figured out the blog, so let's start discussing the first chapter!  This week, read chapter one, and when you have finished, respond to the following prompt.  We would like participants to try to share at least one response and 1 reply to another person's response. Thanks!

Please describe your reaction to the concepts in the first chapter:

• Useful worry
• Controlling feelings
• Seeking certainty and comfort, immediately and continually
• Anxious behaviors in children

(Next weekend we will ask you to reflect on your progress in the action plan at the end of the chapter.)

Chapter One - Understanding Worry

Even though we haven't had our "Meet and Greet" yet, it looks like people have mostly figured out the blog, so let's start discussing the first chapter!  This week, read chapter one, and when you have finished, respond to the following prompt.  We would like participants to try to share at least one response and 1 reply to another person's response. Thanks!

Please describe your reaction to the concepts in the first chapter:

• Useful worry
• Controlling feelings
• Seeking certainty and comfort, immediately and continually
• Anxious behaviors in children

(Next weekend we will ask you to reflect on your progress in the action plan at the end of the chapter.)