Kidstress: What It Is, How It Feels, How to Help [Hardcover]

Dr. Georgia Witkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

Millions know Georgia Witkin from her years as "tip doctor" at WNBC's Live at Five (a favorite with at-home parents); as a regular guest on Imus in the Morning; and as a guest on every major talk show, including 20/20 and repeat appearances on Oprah. Hundreds of thousands more have read her landmark books on adult stress, based on her work as a psychiatry professor and director of a major medical center's stress program. Now, in KidStress, she turns her attention to an escalating new problem. Children today experience more stress and more feelings of vulnerability and anxiety than ever before. And as Dr. Witkin knows, when children are stressed, so are their parents. But Dr. Witkin's own studies--including a first-ever surrey of children themselves--find that parents rarely identify their children's prime stress factors or see their "secret symptoms." Her refreshing and encouraging book discusses all the major childhood stressors, from academic pressure, family issues (including sibling and parent conflict), and peer relations to media violence and children's very real fears about the world around them. And Witkin addresses the symptoms of stress, from insomnia to anxiety to an inability to focus attention. She tells you how to determine if your children are "overloaded," and how you can help them--at any age or stage--to help themselves. Best of all, it reveals that most childhood stress is not caused by parents! KidStress offers the most effective strategies parents can teach their kids for school, family, peers, and the world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Relax--it's not your fault! Dr. Georgia Witkin will help you realize that not all your child's stresses come from home. More to the point, parents can help their kids deal with stress effectively. The initial step is to identify the symptoms. Here the author includes descriptions of symptoms in children's own words; you'll be amazed at just how accurately little ones can describe those feelings we all get during difficult times, from "I get a tight knot in my stomach" to "I start to drum my fingers." Several chapters focus on the sources of stress: family, friendships, school, and a few biggies like death and war. Techniques to deal with stress are presented in simple bullet-point lists, addressing behavioral changes for a variety of troublesome situations. Some techniques, it should be noted, are more helpful than others ("never criticize when angry, only when calm" sounds easy, but try it on the way to the airport with two cranky adolescents at holiday time and you'll see why some suggestions are easier made than put into practice). Most useful are the insights into a child's outward signs of stress, and how to balance parental sympathy with a refusal to be manipulated. Often, open conversation and thorough preparation provide the solutions, just as they do for us stressed-out adults. A practical guide to dealing with life's everyday worries, KidStress can help parents and kids survive stress-filled days peacefully. --Jill Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

Witkin, author of The Female Stress Syndrome and The Male Stress Syndrome and director of the stress program at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, turns her attention to children, and what she sees is alarming. One in three suffers from such chronic stress symptoms as ulcerative colitis; one in 20 under the age of 10 suffers from depression; teen pregnancy and abuse of drugs and alcohol are on the rise; and 3000 youngsters a day take up smoking cigarettes. To find out what's bothering these kids, Witkin took the unusual step of asking children themselves and then compared their answers with what their parents said. What she discovered is that parents underestimate, among other things, how much children worry and how altruistic they are and overestimate the effects of peer pressure. In chatty yet no-nonsense prose, Witkin shares the often surprising results of her and other researchers' surveys, specifies the main stressors in children's lives and suggests ways to cope with them. From birth order (she refutes the common perception that children without siblings are lonely "nerds") and sibling rivalry to divorce and the death of a loved one, Witkin offers a fresh viewpoint and sensible, reassuring advice that will be welcome to parents and teachers anxiously picking their way through the minefield of "kidstress." Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670873292
• ISBN-13: 978-0670873296
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,433,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Why should parents help kids get over stresses they have caused in the first place?, August 1, 2006

By 

Carol "Carol" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kidstress: What It Is, How It Feels, How to Help (Hardcover)

Rather, parents should eliminate the unwarranted stresses they are responsible for.

The author writes, "You've gotten over the breakup, and so have your children."

Could any statement be more ridiculous? OF COURSE, the children haven't gotten over the breakup. They won't "get over" it either.

Rather than tell parents to NOT DATE until the kids are grown and out of the house, the author encourages parents to just go out and do whatever the hell they want - to hell with what is good for the kids and their relationship with the kids.

I rate this book as a minus 2. The author treats these issues like families really live like the Brady Bunch. Silly, fluffy advice for airheads.