Little Kids, Big Worries: Stress-Busting Tips for Early Childhood Classrooms

Research shows that stress in the crucial early years of a child's life can pose dramatic, lasting challenges to development, learning, and behavior. This is the practical book early childhood professionals need to recognize stress in young children—and intervene with proven relief strategies before pressures turn into big problems.

Developed by celebrated early childhood expert Alice Sterling Honig, this guidebook helps readers address the most common causes of stress in a young child's life, including separation anxiety, bullying, jealousy, and family circumstances. Educators and childcare providers will

• understand key factors that influence a child's stress level, including attachment, temperament, developmental and learning challenges, health issues, and family pressures
• become a keen observer of the varied and sometimes subtle ways that children express stress
• choose from a wide range of stress-busting techniques—all innovative, time-tested, and clinically validated
• personalize stress-busters to meet the needs of individual children
• skillfully use stress-reducing strategies with groups of children from diverse backgrounds
• harness the power of storytelling to model solutions to problems and help children address negative feelings
• avoid burnout by handling the stresses in their own adult lives, from challenging interactions with parents to issues with co-workers

Memorable stories inspired by Dr. Honig's 30+ years of experience show readers how these stress-busters can make a real difference in children's lives, and the questions at the end of each chapter are ideal aids for self-study or professional development courses. Packed with down-to-earth, easy-to-use ideas, this empowering book gives professionals the tools they need to conquer stress in any early childhood setting—so children can develop the early social and academic skills they'll need to succeed in school.

Learn how to use these proven stress-busters:

• making environmental adjustments
• redirecting rather than reprimanding
• supporting a child's self-soothing methods
• teaching problem-solving strategies
• taking the child's perspective
• providing verbal reassurance
• soothing through gentle physical contact
• using open-ended questions to pinpoint a child's fears
• and much more!

A featured book in our Better Behavior Kit!

See which domain of school readiness in the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Outcomes Framework this book addresses.