Nurturing growth through knowledge
Welcome to my resource page, a supportive space for parents seeking guidance and tools to help their children navigate life's challenges. Here, you'll find carefully selected books, videos, and articles addressing anxiety, grief and loss, neurodiversity, and other important topics. I aim to empower you with the knowledge and resources to foster your child's well-being. Please feel free to explore and contact me if you have any questions.
Anxiety resources
Discover a collection of books, videos, and articles designed to help children understand and manage anxiety. These resources offer practical strategies and supportive guidance for parents and children alike. Some of our recommendations include:
Anxiety NZ - Welcome! Nau mai, haere mai! | Anxiety NZ
Parenting Place | Untangling Anxiety | Support kids through worry +…
Anxiety and Resilience - Nathan Wallis
'Hey Awesome' by Karen Young
"Hey Awesome" shows kids that the same brain that sometimes feels worried is also super powerful and full of cool strengths! It shares fun and helpful ways to handle those nervous feelings. First, we cheer them on and remind them how awesome they already are—then we give them the tools to feel it deep down inside.
'Hey Warrior' by Karen Young
Kids are superstars when they know what’s going on! When they learn why anxiety feels so yucky and where those tummy flutters and racing hearts come from, they can start to feel braver and stronger. We break it down so it makes sense—because when kids understand anxiety, they can take charge. Perfect for ages 5 to 12 (and anyone who’s still a kid at heart!).
Aroha's Way by Craig Phillips
Aroha's Way is a beautifully illustrated book to help kids navigate challenging emotions like fear, worry and that nervous butterfly feeling. 🦋
Aroha's Way - A Children's Guide through Emotions
Don't Worry Felix by Yohann Devezy
Felix has a problem. It’s a big, red, round problem. A worry balloon that follows him everywhere he goes ... As his heart thumps, stomach twists and toes wiggle, it grows and grows and stops him from doing what he wants to do. But when Felix learns a special trick, things start to change ...
What To Do When You Worry Too Much by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.
Did you know that worries are like tomatoes? No, you can't eat them, but you can make them grow, simply by paying attention to them. If your worries have grown so big that they bother you almost every day, this book is for you.
What to Do When You Worry Too Much guides children and parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques most often used in the treatment of anxiety. Lively metaphors and humorous illustrations make the concepts and strategies easy to understand, while clear how-to steps and prompts to draw and write help children to master new skills related to reducing anxiety. This interactive self-help book is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering kids to overcoming their overgrown worries.
Neurodiversity resources
Explore resources and organisations that celebrate and support neurodiversity in children. Discover books, videos, and articles that promote understanding, acceptance, and inclusion.
Altogether Autism - Trusted Autism Information and Advice
OCD NZ – it's not the thought that counts …Dyslexia Foundation NZ | Knowledge Hub - Support for Dyslexia in NZ
Wonderfully Wired Brains by Louise Gooding
🧠✨ Guess what? Brains are like superheroes — each one has its own special powers! Some brains zoom through puzzles, others dance with colors, and some think in ways that make the world go “WOW!” That’s called neurodiversity — a big word that means brains are wonderfully different.
Sometimes kids with super-special brains feel like they don’t fit in, but this book says, “Hey, you’re awesome just the way you are!” It’s packed with cool stories, fun facts, and real-life heroes who are changing the way people think about brain differences.
📚 In Wonderfully Wired Brains, you’ll explore science, history, and all kinds of amazing brainy stuff. Whether your brain loves numbers, music, daydreams, or doodles — this book celebrates YOU! Because no two brains are the same, and that’s what makes the world so exciting.
So, get ready to giggle, learn, and cheer for every kind of brain — especially yours!
Wonderfully Wired Brains - Penguin Books New Zealand
I Am Autistic by Chanelle Moriah
When Chanelle Moriah was diagnosed with autism at 21, life finally began to make sense. Hungry for information, Chanelle looked for a simple resource that could explain what autism is and how it can impact the different areas of an autistic person's life but found that there was little written from the perspective of someone who is autistic. So, Chanelle decided to create that missing resource. Chanelle discovered just how difficult it can be for autistic adults - particularly females or those assigned female at birth - to be diagnosed or even be assessed for autism. This is partly because there is very little understanding of the different ways autism can present itself. I Am Autistic is a tool for both diagnosed and undiagnosed autistics to explain or make sense of their experiences. It also offers non-autistic people the chance to learn more about autism from someone who is autistic. With clear sections describing the different aspects of autism, accompanied by Chanelle's beautiful illustrations, and with space for readers to write down their thoughts, this book is designed to be personalised to the individual's experience. I Am Autistic helps people feel less alone in their autism and brings knowledge to an often-misunderstood condition.
This Is ADHD by Chanelle Moriah
An essential guide to understanding ADHD, written and illustrated from the perspective of someone with ADHD. An essential guide to understanding Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder — commonly known as ADHD — for people with ADHD and their families, friends and workmates. Chanelle Moriah was officially diagnosed with ADHD at 22, and soon discovered just how inaccessible a lot of information can be for ADHD adults and those who may not yet have been able to obtain an assessment or supports. Chanelle has created a simple resource that explains what ADHD is and how it can impact the different areas of someone's life. This is ADHD is a tool for both diagnosed and undiagnosed people with ADHD to explain or make sense of their experiences. It also offers non-ADHD people the chance to learn more about ADHD from someone who has it. With clear sections explaining the many aspects of ADHD, accompanied by Chanelle's beautiful illustrations, and with space for readers to write down their thoughts, this book is designed to be personalised to the individual's experience. This is ADHD helps people feel less alone in their ADHD and brings knowledge to an often-misunderstood condition.
I Am Dyslexic by Chanelle Moriah
Dyslexia affects approximately one in ten people, yet accessible information on managing it can be scarce. This book is an essential resource for dyslexic individuals, their families, friends, and colleagues.
Author Chanelle Moriah, diagnosed with dyslexia at 25, draws on personal experience and expertise to illuminate this often-misunderstood condition. Following her bestselling books on autism and ADHD, Chanelle dives deep into dyslexia, offering a simple yet comprehensive explanation of its impact on various aspects of life.
I Am Dyslexic serves as a valuable tool for both diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals to understand and articulate their experiences. It also provides non-dyslexic readers with the opportunity to learn directly from someone living with dyslexia.
What To Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck - A Kids Guide To Overcoming OCD by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.
This story guides children and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques used to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Revealing OCD in a whole new light, this interactive self-help book turns kids into super-sleuths who can recognize OCD's tricks. Engaging examples, activities, and step-by-step instructions help children master the skills needed to break free from the sticky thoughts and urges of OCD, and live happier lives. This is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering children to work toward change.
Grief & Loss
Supporting your child through one of the most challenging times, grief.
Bereavement at different ages and stages | Skylight Trust
Grief & Mental Health Support for NZ Youth | Kenzie’s Gift
The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
👩👧👦 One day, a mom told her kids something magical: “We’re all tied together by an invisible string!” “Wait… what? That’s silly!” the kids giggled. “What kind of string?”
She smiled and said, “It’s a string made of LOVE!” 💖 You can’t see it with your eyes, but you can feel it in your heart — like a warm hug from far away. It stretches across houses, cities, even space! And guess what? It never ever breaks.
🌈 This sweet storybook shows how love keeps us close, even when we’re apart. It answers big questions like:
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Does everyone have an invisible string?
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Can it reach all the way to Grandma’s house?
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What happens when we miss someone?
It’s a cozy tale for kids (and grown-ups too!) that reminds us: love is the strongest string of all.
The Memory Box by Joanna Rowland
From the perspective of a young child, Joanna Rowland artfully describes what it is like to remember and grieve a loved one who has died. The child in the story creates a memory box to keep mementos and written memories of the loved one, to help in the grieving process. Heartfelt and comforting, The Memory Box will help children and adults talk about this very difficult topic together. The unique point of view allows the reader to imagine the loss of any they have loved - a friend, family member, or even a pet. A parent guide in the back includes expert information from a Christian perspective on helping children manage the complex and difficult emotions they feel when they lose someone they love, as well as suggestions on how to create their own memory box.
Parenting Support
co-regulation is when adults help children calm down. It’s like the training wheels for self-regulation skills, which is when children learn to cope with emotions by themselves.
Tuning in to Kids for Parents | Tuning in to Kids™ Online
Tuning in to Kids® was the first of our parenting programs. It teaches parents and carers skills in emotion coaching, a way of responding to emotions that can help children to understand, regulate and work through their emotions so that they manage their behaviour and respond in socially appropriate ways. In particular, the program teaches parents to notice children’s emotions, especially before emotions have become overwhelming for the child.
Parents and carers are encouraged to accept, validate and empathise with their child’s emotions, help reflect upon or name the emotions being experienced, and if necessary, assist the child to work through the emotion and problem solve.
When parents and carers respond to children’s emotions in ways that validate and accept emotions but still guide them with appropriate behaviour, children learn important skills in emotional intelligence. Over time children use these skills in all aspects of their lives. Emotional intelligence helps children to be more resilient so that when they face challenging experiences they can talk about their feelings and work through these experiences.
Emotional intelligence helps prevent mental health problems, and learning these skills can reduce mental health difficulties if they are occurring.
Tuning in to Kids® also teaches parents and carers skills in being aware of how they express their own emotions when parenting. Parenting (and life) can be an emotionally challenging experience at times, and many parents benefit from reflecting on the ways they cope and manage their emotions. Children watch and copy how the people who raise them express emotions and so it is an important part of what benefits children. By learning to use emotion coaching skills, many parents and carers find their children talk to them more, want greater contact with them, and share more of their emotional experiences with them.
Parenting Place | Parenting Place
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren NZ