Best-Selling Children’s Book Helps Families and Teachers Navigate Emotional Toll of Pandemic
Las Vegas, Aug 12, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - As schools begin to reopen, and many go virtual or hybrid, children and parents don't know what to expect. Even schools that open, may have an outbreak and close. Experts say this uncertainty creates anxiety and depression.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, depression and anxiety disorders among adults are soaring - tripling over the last year and a half. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and author Helene Van Sant-Klein says this can have a dramatic impact on kids. "Kids are little emotional sponges. They may pick up the emotions their parents are experiencing and not have the life experience or the verbal ability to understand their feelings or talk about them. Their own emotional struggle may show up as regressive behaviors: clinginess, defiance, whining, shutting down, or acting out."
The internationally best-selling illustrated children's book, Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit, by Emmy® and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist Christianne Klein, and Helene Van Sant-Klein, LMFT, is helping children, teachers, parents, grandparents, and caretakers all over the world tackle the emotional toll of the pandemic. As cases of coronavirus continue to surge and schools toil over re-opening guidelines, Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit helps children deal with the range of emotions they may be experiencing with social distancing, while also giving them hope for a better future. The book provides mental health tools to deal with the changes brought on by the pandemic.
Dr. Kallie Clark, Education Researcher at Temple University, says the book is essential for our time. "Anna and the Germ That Came to Visit provides families with a common language and space to process the emotional, psychological and physical impacts of social distancing."
New Orleans-based psychiatrist, Dr. Carissa Zeleski agrees, "Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit is the perfect launchpad for kids to talk about the current pandemic, normalizing the complex feelings around an invisible threat."
The authors say every word in the book was specifically chosen to help with the mental and emotional toll of the pandemic, while also preparing kids for future waves. "I chose the title, Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit to show this won't last forever. The word 'visit' is a finite period of time," said Christianne Klein.
"As a parent, it's heartbreaking to watch your child struggle. Our little girl misses her cousins and grandparents so much, and I wanted to find a way to explain to her what was going on in the world in a kid-friendly way with a message of hope and resilience," said Christianne. "This book explains where we've been and normalizes the emotions kids are feeling: the fear, frustration, loneliness, sadness, and confusion. It acknowledges that they're missing friends, family, and teachers and shows them that there's a light at the end of the tunnel."
The mother-daughter duo each brought their own unique strengths to the story: Christianne with her nationally recognized storytelling abilities, and Helene, with her decades of experience as a sought-after therapist. The result is a book that uses storytelling and therapeutic tools in a unique way and shows kids and families how they can use those same tools, like drawing out and talking about feelings, in their own life and home. Helene says the book can help children and adults. "This book provides a tool for parents to open up the conversation with their kids and then validates their feelings to help reduce their anxiety. This also takes a lot of the burden off parents who don't know what to do or how to address the issue."
A variety of additional free resources to help children through the crisis are available in a kid-friendly format on the website, TheGermBook.com - including coloring pages to allow children to draw out their feelings, and a song inspired by the book (you can even wash your hands to the shortened 20 second version)!
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Christianne Klein is an Emmy® and Edward R. Murrow award-winning news anchor, author, mother, and former national anchor and correspondent for ABC News and Good Morning America. Her mother, Helene Van Sant-Klein, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Registered Nurse, parenting and trauma expert, mother, grandmother, illustrator, and author.
Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit is available on Amazon around the world.
For more information please visit www.TheGermBook.com
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Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit
Source :Truth Fairy Media
This article was originally published by IssueWire. Read the original article here.
