illustration by Anne Wilson
A GENTLE PICTURE BOOK TO HELP CHILDREN (4+ YEARS) TALK ABOUT AND MANAGE THEIR EVERYDAY WORRIES
CO-AUTHORED BY DR PATRICK DAVEY (CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST) AND DR ANNA SMITH (PRINCIPAL PSCYHOLOGIST)
LOVELY MESSAGES AND TESTIMONIALS ABOUT THE BOOK, THANK YOU!
PROFESSOR DAVID VEALE, LEAD PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTANT FOR ANXIETY DISORDER SERVICES, MAUDLSEY HOSPITAL;
‘A fantastic book and essential reading for parents and children to find a common language to share their everyday worries.’
GEORGE FROM LONDON, DAD OF DAISY AND GRACE;
'I read it to both my girls (3 and 5) on Tuesday night and they loved it. Unprompted the next morning they talked about their cheeky worries! The elder worried about being laughed at in english, the younger about being on her own. We talked about them and came up with a plan to let the teachers know. After school they were BEAMING, the elder said that after asking for help, she'd had stuff explained and understood it and her teacher said how well she did!’
JENNA FROM OXFORD, MUM OF FREYA AND TED
‘I am a psychotherapist and mum. I use this book frequently when working with children and families who are experiencing anxiety disorders. It uses a really nice CBT based framework looking at facing our fears and gaining control of our anxieties. The ended is lovely, normalising the fact that we all experience anxieties from time to time. As a parent my children really love this book. The main character Finn is very relatable and the illustrations are engaging and fun. I highly recommend this book from a parenting perspective and a therapeutic one!’
NAOMI FROM WELLS, MUM OF 3 LITTLE ONES;
‘It’s a fantastic book! Every home should have one!’
CLARE FROM LONDON, MUM OF SAM;
‘I just had to write to thank you for your wonderful book. It is absolutely BRILLIANT, and I’m buying copies for the kid’s nursery and school as well as for several friends (in fact I already lent our copy to a friend just today).
Sam our eldest particularly suffers from what he calls ‘scary thoughts’ - irrational, intrusive ideas that upset and worry him and stop him, like Finn in your lovely book, from doing things he really wants to do. We read it together last night and had very happy conversations about the kind of ‘cheeky worries’ we all have and what we can say to them to make them go away...
You have so brilliantly tapped into the psyche of a small person and told Finn’s story in a way and using examples, that little people can relate to, and all complemented by gorgeous illustrations. I think it made Sam feel so much calmer knowing that we all have cheeky worries and he has the power to do something about them.
Thank you again from a much happier, already feeling braver little boy!’
GARETH FROM CARDIFF, DAD OF JACK;
‘Jack read it three times in a row! He asked me if I had any Cheeky Worries and then told me one of his. We were talking about feelings! Thank you for this book, you’ve already helped one little boy!’
BETTY FROM BRIGHTON, MUM OF SAM AND FINN;
‘I’m in tears reading this. your heart and soul has gone into it. such a gorgeous book with such a beautiful message, thank you.’
What’s the story?
Cheeky Worries is the story of one boy’s journey to accept and understand his worries so that he can express what he is feeling and keep doing the things he loves.
He is not alone on this journey and is aided by the wise owl who helps Finn recognise a worry, label it, verbalise it and manage it himself. Finn learns it is normal to have worries but we can choose how we respond to them. As the owl takes off to support another little worrier she helps Finn realise that no matter how big or small we are, we all have cheeky worries.
illustration by Anne Wilson
Who we are and how it all began?
Dr Patrick Davey and Dr Anna Smith work in the NHS in South London as a psychiatrist and psychologist respectively. Between them they have 20 years experience of working in front-line NHS mental health services. They feel passionately about helping children learn how to make sense of their emotional worlds. The inspiration to write this book came from a 4 year old’s tearful refusal to get on the bus.
Like all great stories It started with a tantrum…
how the book helps children manage worries?
Cheeky Worries introduces 4+ year old children to fundamental skills to allow them to develop their own 'mentally healthy tool kit' and start to learn how to manage worries so they can keep doing the things they want to. Worries are normal to experience. However, there are strategies that can be employed to help manage them.
The story is founded on psychological principles taken from compassion focused therapy, mindfulness, lessons in kindness and cognitive behavioural therapy. A free PDF guide for grown-ups provides explanations of how these principles have been woven into the story and more importantly how they can become a framework for parents and children to build a common language to share and understand worries. There are some suggested exercises and games to develop these further. They are the foundation for school workshops but they can be used just as easily by parents at home.
Cheeky Worries parent guide to help children manage their worries.