I feel uncomfortable around other children
Social anxiety caused by unpleasant experiences from the past
| Author | Tatjana Gjurković, Tea Knežević |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jelena Brezovec |
| Original Title | Velika briga male srne: Osjećam se nelagodno s drugom djecom |
| ISBN | 978-953-385-021-4 |
| 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 doe loved to dance, so her parents enrolled her in a dance school. But one day little doe refused to go to the dance class. Over time, she began to refuse to go to all activities and social gatherings. She didn’t want to go to birthday parties, visit friends, or go to the playroom. The parents were confused because their daughter couldn’t explain why she didn’t want to hang out with other children anymore. They told everything to the teacher, the bunny, who explained to them that it might be because their doe had some unpleasant experiences in the past and now feels uncomfortable and insecure in similar situations.
Depending on the cause, we distinguish several types of anxiety, and in this picture book we meet a little doe who suffers from social anxiety due to unpleasant experiences from the past.
In the story, we will see how little doe couldn’t explain with words why she refuses and avoids socializing, so her parents kept persuading her, but this only increased her resistance. Little doe couldn’t explain that she felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to go to places where she had some unpleasant experiences in the past. In order to reduce a child’s anxiety, it is essential for parents to understand that there must be a cause and to learn how to help the child regain a sense of security – now.
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.
