The Worry-Free Parent

May 15, 2023
Therapist Goff (Raising Worry-Free Girls) teaches parents to navigate their own anxiety and their children’s in this reassuring guide. A child with an anxious parent is “seven times more likely” to deal with the issue as well, says Goff, and while “who gave it to whom” isn’t always cut and dry, stopping anxiety’s spread begins with understanding its origins. Goff urges parents to consider stress and instability in their own upbringing (“When you think back on your childhood home, was there tension?”) and the coping mechanisms they may have developed. She then explains the ways anxiety can influence parenting style, including via “sidecar parenting” (projecting personal insecurities onto one’s child) or “snowplow parenting” (smoothing out life’s usual obstacles for them, which impedes growth in the long term). Goff details in-the-moment strategies for coping with children’s anxiety, including deep breathing exercises, and offers a steady stream of encouragement, reassuring parents that they can seek comfort in God, that it’s okay for kids to see parents fail, and that readers’ efforts as parents are “enough.” Goff’s therapeutic know-how adds authority to the text, and her conversational tone and client stories will help readers see themselves in her advice. Parents concerned about their kids’ stress will find this a valuable resource.