I feel scared that I will fail
Anxiety caused by social expectations and fear of failure
| Author | Tatjana Gjurković, Tea Knežević |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jelena Brezovec |
| Original Title | Velika briga malog tigra: Osjećam strah da neću uspjeti |
| ISBN | 978-953-385-022-1 |
| Format | softcover |
| Pages | 24 |
| Size | 22x22 cm |
| Age range | Early learning (2 – 6), Beginning readers (5 – 7) |
| Category | Anxiety |
|---|---|
| Tag | Anxiety in children picture book series |
WRITTEN BY EXPERTS IN CHILD PSYCHOLOGY
Little tiger was very playful and cheerful, but his dad wanted to teach him an important survival skill – to roar loudly and powerfully. Tiger cub wanted to be strong like his dad, but only a quiet and squeaky voice came out of his throat. Dad thought that little one was not trying at all, so he got very angry and was rude to his son. The next time he invited him to go learn how to roar, little tiger had a panic attack. Dad had to pause, think and find a new teaching method that would not cause such great fear and panic in the little tiger.
Depending on the cause, we recognize several types of anxiety, and in this picture book we meet a little tiger who suffers from anxiety caused by social expectations and fear of failure.
In the story, we meet a little tiger who experienced a panic attack because he was afraid that he would not be able to meet his parents’ demands and expectations and that he would not be accepted for who he was. As we will see in this story, in order to reduce a child’s anxiety, it is necessary for parents to understand that there must be some cause for anxiety and panic reactions in their child and to learn how to help the child regain the feeling that they are loved, enough, and accepted.
Until recently, anxiety was mostly mentioned in the context of difficulties in adults. However, experts who work with children have noticed a significant increase in anxiety symptoms among children. Younger children are increasingly troubled by the subjective feeling that something bad will happen in the future and that they will not be able to cope with that situation.
An anxious child is overwhelmed by feelings of deep worry, tension, restlessness, discomfort, confusion, and insecurity. They are hyper-focused on potential sources of threat and have urge to avoid them, to do everything possible to protect themselves. Child has difficulties relaxing and playing, remembering and learning, falling asleep, wants to isolate, complains of stomach aches, headaches, and other psychosomatic symptoms, refuses activities and socializing that they previously enjoyed, develops phobias or panic attacks, and needs help of an adult to learn to cope with these unpleasant states.
The story and tips for adults in this picture book help the whole family understand the causes, beliefs, feelings, and behaviours that accompany anxiety, and provide basic advice on how to cope with this condition.
Author: Tatjana Gjurković
Tatjana Gjurković has a master’s degree in psychology, she is certified psychotherapist, certified child play therapist (RPT), Certified Transactional Analyst (CTA), Teacher and Supervisor of Transactional Analysis (TSTA). She works individually with children and adults and holds educational programs for specialists in fields of child play therapy and transaction analysis. She is author of a book “Play Therapy with children” and 28 therapeutic picture books. She continuously promotes the importance of mental health in children and adults through Centar Proventus which she co-founded with her colleague Tea Knežević.
Author: Tea Knežević
Tea Knežević has master’s degree in psychology, she is certified psychotherapist, certified child play therapist (RPT) and Certified Transactional Analyst (CTA). She provides play therapy with children, psychotherapy with adults, parent consultations, and conducts numerous training courses for professionals in Centar Proventus which she co-founded with her colleague Tatjana Gjurković. She has written 28 picture books with therapeutic stories for children. In addition, she is the author of several manuals related to psychological resilience, gifted children, and anger management.
Illustrator: Jelena Brezovec
Jelena Brezovec has a master’s degree in social studies. For a long time, drawing was just a hobby, until 2008 when she became a co-founder of the publishing house Evenio and decided to study digital illustration, with the focus on children’s illustration. So far, she has illustrated more than 40 picture books and many other publications. She is the winner of the Grigor Vitez “Bird” Award, a special praise from the children’s jury. She has illustrated the most popular children’s book series in Croatia – Mrljek & Prljek. Her illustrations have been part of many exhibitions throughout Croatia. She lives and works in Varaždin, Croatia.
