Stella O'Malley

Lisa Marchiano

Sasha Ayad

Being the parent of a gender-questioning child is confusing. You want to do what's best for your child, but doctors and therapists might make recommendations that conflict with your instincts as a parent, the person who best knows your child's unique history, challenges and struggles. Do you immediately affirm a newly professed gender identity, watch and wait, or pursue some other path? While many books have been written for parents who choose to facilitate their child's gender transition, there are almost no books for parents who do not think that social or medical transition is the best option for their child. Written by Sasha Ayad, Lisa Marchiano and Stella O'Malley – three mental health professionals who collectively have decades of experience working with trans-identified adolescents and their families – When Kids Say They're Trans is a resource designed explicitly for those parents who do not think that hasty affirmation or medicalization is the best way to ensure the long-term health and well-being of their child. It is also for those who simply aren't so sure about the best course of action and want to learn the facts before committing to a particular approach. At a time when schools, institutions and governments increasingly promote ideas about gender that confuse children and even encourage kids to keep secrets from their parents, the authors celebrate parental love and engagement as the bedrock that children need to move out into the world. As the authors make clear, parents who have successfully helped their children navigate gender distress without resorting to surgery and hormones have done so by actively taking the reins – not by reflexively outsourcing this responsibility or waiting until they found the ideal therapist or doctor. When Kids Say They're Trans tells you all you need to know as a parent to help your child struggling with gender issues – and will give you the confidence to trust your own instincts as you guide and support your child on the path toward growth, acceptance and maturity.

A Guide for Parents

When Kids Say They're Trans

Bully-Proof Kids offers concrete strategies to empower children and teenagers to deal confidently with bullying and dominant characters.

Practical Tools to Help Your Child to Grow Up Confident, Resilient and Strong

Bully-Proof Kids

Have we reached a point where anxiety is so common we consider it ‘normal’? In this exploration of the rising anxiety epidemic, psychotherapist and bestselling author Stella O’Malley delves into why we are feeling more anxious, stressed and overwhelmed than ever. From looking at how our increasingly perfectionist and materialistic society is causing us to value all the wrong things, to practical tips for uncovering the roots of anxiety and strategies to ease it, this book is an essential tool for building resilience to stress. Anyone can experience anxiety at any time. Fragile arms us with the skills to move forward to a place where we can experience challenges to our mental health and feel adequately empowered to address them, allowing us to live calmer, more satisfying lives.

Why we are feeling more stressed, anxious and overwhelmed than ever (and what we can do about it)

Fragile

What has happened to Irish childhood? Parents are keeping their children indoors for fear of predators lurking around every corner and children are spending their days in front of screens or in supervised activities, over-controlled and growing steadily fatter and more unhappy. But it doesn’t have to be like this. Commercial interests ensure parents feel anxious and filled with fear simply to sell them more stuff, when in fact childhood has never been safer; the rates of child mortality, injury and sexual abuse are lower today than at any time since records began. Cotton Wool Kids exposes the truth behind the scary stories and gives parents the information and the confidence to free themselves from the the treadmill of after-school activities and over-supervision that has become common today. The author provides parents with strategies to learn how to handle the relentless pressure from society and the media to provide a 'perfect' childhood and instead to raise their children with a more relaxed and joyful approach, more in touch with the outdoors and the community around them.

What's Making Irish Parents Paranoid?

Cotton Wool Kids

Stella O'Malley is the author of Cotton Wool Kids and Bully-Proof Kids. This new book moves beyond parenting books to general self-help and explores the reasons why so many people feel more anxious, overwhelmed and stressed than ever. The way that we are encouraged to emphasise our emotions, often causing more harm than good, and how we are misreading mental health messages is also scrutinised. With a particular interest in the rising levels of anxiety, she shows us how our increasingly perfectionist and materialistic society has created a society shallow and toxic that is high on expectation and low on satisfaction. After examining why and how we feel so overwhelmed and anxious, the second half of the book focuses on tapping into our inner strength so that we can learn to stop giving our power away. More than anything, this book, with a series of simple thinking tools, helps the reader to move forward to a place where they can experience challenges to their mental health and yet feel adequately empowered to address their issues.

Why We Feel More Anxious, Stressed and Overwhelmed Than Ever, and what We Can Do about it

Based on many years’ experience counselling bullies and targets, Stella O’Malley offers concrete strategies to empower children and teenagers to deal confidently with bullying and dominant characters. She identifies effective ways for families to cope when bullying occurs, including approaching the school authorities, communicating with the bully’s parents and tips to tackle cyberbullying. Stella’s common-sense approach will help your child, tween or teen to develop their emotional intelligence and provide relief for families navigating the rapidly changing social environment, both online and in school. ‘Bully-Proof Kids is the handbook for Irish parents to deal with bullying and exclusion.’ DR MARY O’KANE, EARLY YEARS

Stella O'Malley

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