Kiddo (10) and I really enjoy Dawn Huebner's books, and this one was no different. Kiddo finds the facts scattered throughout the book distracting, so he asked to skip them. He has a lot of anxiety, so he seems to enjoy reading about kids who have anxiety about various things and the ways they can slowly overcome that anxiety.

As in her other books, Huebner outlines a series of steps to help kids gradually overcome their fears; in this case, fears about being separated from their parents.

I would definitely recommend this to any kids who struggle with this fear.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing an early copy for review.

Facing Mighty Fears About Being Apart From Parents has been a great resource for my whole family. I started by reading through the book myself, in particular the parents section, so that I was prepared. Then I read it through with my son, who has suffered with varying levels of separation anxiety throughout his life.

We really enjoyed the 'stair' approach ie. one step at a time; also the comparatives with the animal world and the fascinating facts. I can definitely see that the way the book is structured and worded has sunk in with my son - it's just the right level for a pre-teen. I feel that the book has given me an excellent foundation to work forwards from.

I am so glad that book exists. This book is a guide about separation anxiety. It offers facts, tips and techniques to overcome being away from parents. The step-by-step strategies are practical and engaging. Great book for parents, caregivers and older children.

This book fell into my lap at a great time. My oldest son was an independent toddler, a great sleeper, until he wasn’t. Out of the blue at around age 3 he started to deal with major separation anxiety. We’ve struggled with how to deal with this and talk him through it in a manner that made sense to him, and we were honestly flailing. Until this book came along. Facing Mighty Fears About Being Apart From Parents walked us through the science of how kiddos work through separation from their parents, and gives tips to help them become independent, well adjusted kiddos. We tried to slowly incorporate some of the methods that Huebner mentioned to slowly start to allow our son to practice small steps of independence again. We’ve still have some work to go, but this book has helped to restore some of our sanity, and has also helped our son to feel more secure.

Many thanks to Jessica Kingsley Publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book teaches about separation anxiety with some tips for both children and their parents to help overcome the fears and learn to be a bit more independence. I liked the fun facts that were dotted throughout this book and especially liked the parent information at the end. The illustrations were amazing and I found this to another great read in the Mighty Fear series.

This is a nice way to start a conversation with your kids about separation anxiety. It's appropriate for littler kids, but maybe a bit long for them. It would've been nice to start with a short story version that could be used with really little kids.

I like the inclusion of brain facts. Even my 7yo loves learning about the brain and how it affects his behavior.

This would be a nice choice for anxious kids, but most elementary age kids would benefit.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first journey into the Mighty Fears series.

This book explores the fears of children being apart from their parents. It does so in a child friendly way which means they could read this independently. However there is also additional notes included to help parents support their children. This means you could also read this with your child to widen the conversation and answer any questions they may have.

There are lovely illustrations and fun facts dotted throughout the book to help keep your child engaged.

The book also gets your child to ask themselves questions to allow for self reflection and also allows them to draw parallels to animals in the wild. They are provided with helpful coping mechanisms and activities which they can use whenever they need to.

I look forward to discovering more of the Mighty Fears series.

This little book is such a good resource - an older child could read it on their own or a parent/supportive adult could read this with the child. It does a great job explaining the science of the brain to young children but honestly, I think this book could be beneficial for any age. Very cute. Very positive approach - validates hard emotions and attachment but encourages making small steps towards accomplishments! I enjoy the hierarchy “staircase” and imagery for the 3 steps and activities. Thanks NetGalley.

This was a very nicely done book on helping children adjust to a certain level of independence, I would've loved to see more and a little more younger child friendly.

Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. There was some things that I expected and were good like taking the compassionate approach to why some children fear being apart from parents and the adding of the animal kingdom facts is a great way to engage younger children. But the steps and having the staircase was an amazing way to take a therapeutic process (gradual exposure therapy) and pose it in a way that families can engage with themselves without having to go to a therapist which many may not even think to try for children just wanting to be with parents. It was also interesting to see how they managed to explain the amygdala and fear response in child appropriate terms as it’s something I didn’t know anything about until i started my studies.

Favourite Quote:
"For some children, the move toward independence happens smoothly. For others, the process is bumpy."

I really liked the overall message, and the strategy of using a staircase to start with a first step and take steps to get to the goal. In fact, it inspired me to use that visual for other goals I want to work toward. I liked and learned a lot about animals and their family relationships and connections. I also liked and learned a lot about children with extreme anxiety who can't leave their parents side and how to help them feel safe while exploring new possibilities.

Overall, I think this would work best for therapists and social workers, or possibly for schools because the examples of anxiety tended to be on the severe side. However there were good examples about sleeping in one's own bed or separating from parents at school. I wasn't sure who exactly the audience would be. If a child is afraid to leave their parent at school, they may be quite young and not be able to use the visualization strategies. I think if parents take what works best for them and leave the other things, they will get a lot out of this book. I understood the animal facts connections, but felt like they would have worked on their own as a younger picture book format and were not needed in this book.

This review is difficult to write only because I am so freaking blown away by this book!

As someone with a Master's degree in Counselling AND 28 years of teaching experience, I can attest that this is the real deal. This book normalizes feelings of fear brought on by separation, teaches why these feelings come on, and provides useful strategies to overcome feelings of fear when separated from parents. It also includes "fun facts" about how animals are cared for and when they venture out on their own. (Did you know that female alligators carry their eggs in their jaws to protect them from predators? I did not. Nor did I know most of the "fun facts.") The end of the book provides a message for parents, including (and this is so important) a warning against the (helicopter parenting) instinct to protect our children when we SHOULD be encouraging them to face their fears. My one teeny tiny criticism is that the book changes from third person to second person with little segue.

AMAZING! I will go on to read the other books in this series and recommend this book/series to my teaching colleagues.

This book seeks to help kids understand that while they may feel nervous to be away from their parents, learning to deal with this is a natural part of growing up. And this lesson applies not only to human children, but also to young animals.

I particularly like the practical steps designed to help children come to terms with their anxiety, including the staircase exercise which allows them to make progress at their own pace.

For me, one of the best parts of the book is the information provided on the animal kingdom, which is just fascinating. I learned a lot, not least about the sleep deprivation that dolphin mothers must deal with in the first month of their babies life, because new-born baby dolphins do not sleep!

Some aspects of the book may not be entirely user-friendly, in that younger children could find it difficult to understand. But I think that if an adult choses to work with a child using this book it can be a really good resource for people who have children that are struggling with separation anxiety, and children will certainly be happier for having found a way to manage their fears.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Love Dawn Huebner’s books for my child therapy sessions and now have discovered this mini book series. It is organized well, easy to understand for parents and kids, cute graphics and strategies for emotional regulation. I particularly found the staircase example for exposure therapy helpful as a clinician, and loved the comparison to young animals and their parents. I’m making it a point to go look at her other mini series books now and order some for my sessions and for parents!

Ok so this book seemed way over the level of my 5 year old who could benefit from it. The author says at the end of the book it is for kids 6-10. I would say it’s way closer to the level of 8-12 where most kids have moved past the need to be with parents all the time. So I feel this would definitely have a niche audience of older kids with separation issues.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Facing Mighty Fears About Being Apart From Parents is a book to help explain why kids get scared when they are away from their parents. It gives strategies to deal with separation anxiety. This is a helpful book for kids over the age of six. It’s too long for a younger kid and the illustrations aren’t going to keep the attention of a younger kid. I like the parent information at the end.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.

4.5 stars

This book is not only insightful for children, but also me as an adult. The fun animal facts were very interesting. I'd never heard a lot of those before, so it was great to be able to learn something about animals.

The mini biology lesson about the amygdala was fascinating. I knew some of it, but not a lot. The calming down/breathing techniques will come in handy.

The fact that this gave children accountability for their feelings (and normalized them) along with giving them the tools to help themselves (the staircase exercise, the hiding the plate, etc) is a really neat way to teach kids to be independent even when overwhelmed with being independent.

The fact that there was a section at the end for the parents along with resources and locations of where to go for more information was a wonderful touch. It helps busy parents cut down on the research time to quickly be able to step in and answer questions/offer solutions instead of having a period of downtime between question and answer.

If children are anxious about being away from their parents, this might be a good reference book. It has some suggestions for calming and also for taking steps to start easing anxiety.

I was thinking that it might be helpful for a situation I'm aware, but it really doesn't apply as much as I thought it might. (This book wasn't intended for situations where children are away from parents for an extended amount of time.)

There are reference books and materials at the back of the book that might helpful.

Thank you to Dr. Dawn Huebner for writing this series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Jessica Kingsley Publishers for approving my request to read the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 18 April 2024 This is book 7 in the series and about 80 pages.

Facing Mighty Fears About Being Apart From Parents by Dawn Huebner is a great resource for helping children 6-10 years of age who struggle with separation from their parent or parents. The book discusses the instincts to stay alive that exist among members of the animal kingdom, and the ways that animal parents protect their young. It goes on to conclude that human parents also protect their young, but that there are ways that it is good and fun to do things apart. While some children have no difficulty separating from their parents, it is much harder for other children. The author explains that an area of the brain is responsible for sending alarms that the child is in danger, but that some of these are false alarms. If children act on their fears, it reinforces the feeling of danger, but it is possible to retrain the brain by taking small steps toward a goal gradually. Possible exercises to calm down and think are described. The author provides examples of stair steps toward independence for sleeping in his/her own bed, school drop-off difficulties, and attending after school activities that are easily replicated for other challenges. The book concludes with a positive message that following these steps, the child will be able to feel safer while doing something away from his/her parents. Additional information and resources for additional help for parents are provided at the end of the book. There are illustrations provided every several pages that are fun to look at. This book could be very helpful for both parents and children who are having difficulty separating from them, and the tools that are provided are simple and easy to implement. I believe that this would be a great resource for parents to have. I am voluntarily submitting this review after reading an advanced complementary copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers.