Family and parenting expert Denise Daniels explains how to help your child learn to cope during these tough times.

Letter to Parents
Dear Parents,
With the growing number of job losses in the workforce today, new issues are emerging for parents and children.

When a job loss occurs, it undoubtedly affects the entire family. While much attention has been focused on helping adults ease their stress; until now little information has been available to help children cope. For example, children often internalize the blame for a parent’s job loss, remembering a time when they interrupted or distracted that parent from work. They also wonder how their world will be different, who will be there to take care of them.

Because children often lack the verbal skills to express their emotions, you may instead notice aggressive behavior in their play. At school, a decline in grades or an inability to concentrate is common. Younger children may develop signs of regressive behavior such as bed-wetting, thumb-sucking, or clinginess. Dealing with this kind of behavior is even harder for parents who are financially stressed and emotionally drained.

What Can I Do? My Journal for Caring and Sharing in Tough Times is a tool to help children develop coping strategies. Through the activities in this journal, children will learn to identify, express, and manage feelings of loss and change. The journal will also help them identify their support systems, while reinforcing self-esteem and open communication.

By sharing this journal with your children, you will encourage them to celebrate change, growth, and family, and remind them that with every ending comes a new beginning!

Sincerely,
Denise Daniels

Visit What Can I Do? My Journal for Caring and Sharing in Tough Times Download Page

You can download What Can I Do? My Journal for Caring and Sharing in Tough Times in PDF format.

I can just be a kid!
Life is full of hellos and good-byes. Every ending is also a new beginning. New beginnings mean there will be more changes and more opportunities to grow!

Even though these may be difficult days for your family, things will be better in time. You have learned a lot about change and yourself. Change is hard work.

You have done a lot of good work here. Keep working hard because there are many new and exciting adventures ahead for you. Remember – there are many different kinds of jobs in the world, but your most important job right now is just being a kid!

CONGRATULATIONS FOR WORKING HARD AND FOR A JOB WEL DONE!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Denise Daniels is a noted child development authority and author whose specialty is helping children and parents deal with emotions, health and wellness. Her books have reached millions of children and parents, offering practical, simple and essential advice on how to deal with grief, loss, and family transitions, such as job loss, divorce, and death.

Daniels, a Peabody Award recipient for her work on a PBS television special helping American children understand and cope with war, has traveled the world to provide emotional support to children and their families during times of crisis and natural disasters, including the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, and the terrorist attack in New York City.

She is the co-founder of the National Childhood Grief Institute and has testified before Congress and advised the United Nations on issues impacting children in underdeveloped nations. Daniels is a Pediatric Oncology nurse and holds a masters degree in Pediatric Psychology and Counseling.

Long a proponent of the mind/body connection, Denise also developed the innovative First Aid for Feelings health care program for children, which is widely used today in more than 200 pediatric units across the country and is part of the curriculum in pediatric residency programs in 10 major medical schools.

Television and radio producers turn to Daniels to help guide parents and families when confronting difficult issues during tough times. She has been a parenting contributor for top morning television shows, has hosted a daily parenting program for NBC’s cable network and has appeared on The View, Larry King Live, NBC’s Nightly News and numerous other daytime and primetime programs. Her advice has appeared in numerous print publications including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Parents, Newsweek and People magazines.

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