In a few short weeks school will be over and summer vacation will begins. I will no longer have a child in elementary school and another in middle school. BOTH of my kids will be in middle school in the fall. Wasn’t it just the first day of Kindergarten? Sigh… they grow up TOO quickly!
My daughter adjusted to middle school perfectly. Our middle school is for 5th, 6th and 7th graders. We have separate schools for 8th & 9th and then 10th and above. In fact my daughter was made for middle school. Our son however we are VERY worried about. We’re afraid the middle schoolers are going to chew him up and spit him out because our son totally lacks confidence and self esteem. We work on that all the time with him. He even sees the school psychologist to help him with his confidence and self esteem issues. He’s A LOT better now then he was, but he still needs more “work” in those departments.
He is SO STRESSED OUT over going into middle school. He’s worried about everything from the new teachers to having a locker for the first time and from new peers to a ton of school work. I think all the worrying is affecting his confidence too. He doesn’t think he can succeed in middle school as well as our daughter has.
We have been blessed with the opportunity to review some Tool Kids for Kids (http://www.toolkitsforkids.com/). These have been a HUGE help for our son. I’m going to encourage him to work with these cards all summer long in hopes that come the first day of school he’s ready to face the new experiences he’ll have.
Tool Kits for Kids are cards that offer a fun, step-by-step way for children to change their thinking as well as behavior skills that can help them to manage their worry and deal with common fears and anxiety. Other cards available help children to learn the necessary skills to boost their confidence and self esteem.
Currently the available Tool Kits for Kids are “Outsmart Your Worry” and “Charge Up Your Confidence“. We received both kids for review. They are available in both Elementary School Edition (ages 5-11) and Middle School Edition (ages 12-14). My son will be 10 in September, so he’s the Elementary level but I got him the Middle School level because he’ll be in Middle School and I have a feeling he will need these cards over the next few years.
The Tool Kit for Kids cards are round and come in what looks like a CD holder. Both of my kids liked that. If you saw my son with his card case you’d think it was just a regular CD holder and not out of the ordinary. I honestly think he liked that about the cards because my son HATES to stand out and look “different”.
Each pack (Worry or Confidence) come with 20 cards for the child and a few cards for the parent so the parent can learn about the cards too. All the cards fit nicely in the holder. The cards are also easily removed from the holder so your child can take out whatever card they need and put it back when they are done.
Each card explains how an emotion can effect you and it gives you an activity you can do to help lessen your worries (Worry cards) or boost your confidence (Confidence cards).
I’ve read the cards and I am VERY impressed with them. I think they are perfect for his age. They are not immature or babyish nor are they beyond difficult for him to follow along with.
I have not “pushed” the cards on him. When we “push” things on him he rebels and won’t have anything to do with them. When I received the cards for him I simply told him that they were special cards that will help him get ready to go to middle school in the fall. With that said he was more open to the idea of the cards. I have had him leave them on his headboard (it’s like a bookcase) so he can read them whenever he feels like he needs to. From where my desk is located in our shoe box sized home I can see right into the bedroom. As I have sat at my desk I have glanced in the room and seen him reading through the cards. I have seen him remove the cards from their sleeves and look at one for a long time, which would tell me he’s reading it and pondering on what he’s reading.
I have noticed that he hasn’t rambled about some things like the lockers and not being able to figure out which bus to get one like he used to. When he’s nervous and upset he rambles – and quickly too! He hasn’t done that lately. I’m hoping that the cards are to thank for that.
Time will tell their effectiveness but from my point of view these cards are PERFECT for my son and I am very happy that we have them. I can’t wait to see if they make more cards for kids too.
If you have a child or teen who suffers from anxiety, stress, excessive worry, confidence or self esteem issues the Tool Kits for Kids would be the perfect remedy to help them to overcome these issues.
To learn more about the Worry Cards and the Confidence Cards please visit them online at http://www.toolkitsforkids.com/.
