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5 Minutes for Books – “Hot Stuff to Help Kids Cheer Up”

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This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This is the second of two reviews today for 5 Minutes for Books. Click here for the first review. Both reviews today are written by Janice.

Hot Stuff to Help Kids Cheer Up – The Depression and Self-Esteem Workbook

Kids get depressed too.

For years professionals believed that children were not capable of such complex emotions, but now the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry report that about 5 percent of children and adolescents suffer from depression at any given time. As well, children who are under stress, who experience loss, or who have attention, learning, conduct or anxiety disorders are at a higher risk for depression.

Watching a child struggle with depression and low self esteem is heart breaking. As parents, we want to offer our children the best help we can to meet their life challenges.

review-5m4b-cheer-kids-up-1.jpgIf your pre-adolescent or adolescent child is battling emotional issues, Sourcebooks’ Hot Stuff to Help Kids Cheer Up – The Depression and Self-Esteem Workbook by Jerry Wilde, PhD, is an excellent tool that helps a young person to learn to cope with depression or low self esteem.

Based on cognitive-behavior therapy, Dr. Wilde educates the young reader about what depression is and how they can learn effective strategies to change their thoughts and feelings. Wilde breaks it down into easy to understand exercises that the child can learn and practice. (I even found his methods effective for adjusting my own thought patterns!)

Hot Stuff to Help Kids Cheer Up teaches kids:

  • How to think differently so they can feel differently
  • What causes depression and low self-esteem
  • The difference between sadness and depression
  • How to stop worrying about what other people think
  • How to cheer themselves up when they are feeling low
  • How not to equate how well they do with their self-worth

Wilde, who has ten years of experience as a school psychologist, uses a casual, friendly voice to communicate with his young reader. This work book is short and not intimidating, but it is packed with the critical information someone needs to help understand and cope with depression.

Sourcebook lists the recommended age for the book to be 9-12 year olds, but I think it would work well with young teens as well. The lessons are effective for any age group and I am sure teenagers would also appreciate the quick-read style.

Here is an excerpt from the book for you to get a sense of Dr. Wilde’s style to see if it would work well with your child:

“I decided to write this book because I think I can help you learn the skills necessary to understand and overcome feelings of depression and low self-esteem. I’ve written several other books about depression, but they were for counselors and psychologists, not for students. This one is just for you.

Are you ready to hear the hard part? You had to know there was a catch, didn’t you? There’s always a catch. Okay here it is.

Since there’re really isn’t any magic in the world, you won’t feel differently is you don’t think and act differently. Your friends, parents, teachers, dogs, cats and gerbils can’t make you feel better. I certainly can’t magically fix your life with a book, but I can help you learn some ideas and activities that have been proven to work. To feel better you’re going to have to actually do some of the things that I’ll be suggesting. Your life won’t suddenly be perfect, but you’ll feel better…”

After reading this book, I highly recommend it to for young people who are facing depression or low self esteem. The tools and lessons are actually effective for everyone – whether or not one is experiencing a clinical depression.

If your child (or a child close to you) is struggling with depression or low self-esteem, please consider picking up Hot Stuff to Help Kids Cheer Up – The Depression and Self-Esteem Workbook. If you would like to win a copy, leave a comment here at this post.

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34 Comments

  1. hi, i run a music school for kids. It’s a small school, so i think we’ve the resources to implement what your book says we do to keep the children on a straight and even keel. 😀 Please send us a copy,.. and we’ll thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

    Reply

  5. This book sounds really neat! My little brother was just diagnosed with depression and I would love to read this book with him. Please enter me. Thank you!

    Reply

  11. Please add me to the drawing!

    Adding this to the list of “Must Haves” for our home library. We provide foster care, and at any given time, we have children with all sorts of issues! Hopefully this book could help at least one of them.

    Reply

  13. I suffer from depression and anxiety. Maybe this book will help me raise my son so he doesn’t have to be on medicine everyday like me!

    Reply

  20. Since my 12 yo son lives with bipolar disorder, depression is definitely a part of his life by chemical imbalance. While medication is an absolute necessity for his depression due to high suicide risk, we work in many ways teaching him to cope with his depressive moods. This book would certainly be a welcome to our household.

    Reply

  23. I would love to win a copy of this book. As a military spouse with three kids (two in pre-adolescence) I’m sure there would be a lot of helpful things in there, especially for during the next impending deployment.

    Reply

  25. This sounds like a book that not only would benefit one of my children, but would prepare me for others that may go through this.

    Reply

  28. I’m so excited to hear about this book! My girls were adopted through foster care, and my 7-year-old especially goes through bouts of depression, stemming from her traumatic past. She wants so badly to be self-sufficient, so a book that she could read, as opposed to an adult to “teach” her would be helpful, I think.

    Thanks for a very relevant and helpful giveaway! I’ll be seeking this book out, even if I don’t win.

    Reply

  30. Please include me in this drawing. I love working with children and I know this book will help me to relate to some.

    ~Amy

    Reply