In like a kitten, out like a lion…
By Nadine Briggs
My assistant motions to me that someone is crying outside. She is an eight-year-old girl who I know well and has been participating in a group at my center for several months. She loves coming and has made many new friends. We were closed for two weeks…just enough time for her to regress.
By the time I reach her, she is in the throes of a panic attack and clinging to her mother. Her brain is in full fight or flight mode and she is not able to overcome these feelings or listen to suggestions for how she may calm down. Giving strategies to her at this point may, in fact, make the situation worse.
After a bit, the crying starts to slow down and the opportunity to intervene presents itself. I think hard about what I can do to gain her interest. I suggest that she come look at my secret craft box and see if there is something she wants to make. Mom quietly leaves to go to the waiting room, unnoticed. Now is the moment when I know I have her. She starts telling me all the things she is going to make from materials in the craft box. Her face is still wet with tears and her eyes are red.
While she is exploring the crafts, I show her how to make a worry kit that she can use when she feels upset. She says “I really need one of these.” The kit is a plastic baggy containing:
Gum – chewing can help relieve stress
Soft Pom-Pom – to use as a fidget & to feel the softness
Rubber pencil grip – to use as a fidget & to squeeze
Play-Doh – to squeeze & create
Personal power card ( click to download kitten and lion personal power cards 2015) to remind her that sometimes she might feel like a kitten but really there is a lion inside her. She is strong even when she might not feel like it.
Dragon Breath craft (click here for how to make) we made this dragon craft so she can learn how to breathe deep.
I remind her of the incredible five point scale and that she wants to start the deep breathing before she reaches a five. I tell her that next time, she should start to deep breathing when she feels the tears start to come.
We add notes to her “I CAN” can to celebrate that she was able to separate 
from her mom. The cans hold notes of accomplishment that kids can look back on and realize that they are able to overcome obstacles.
She leaves with her anxiety kit, all of her crafts, and a new sense of strength in knowing that she can overcome her anxiety. In a moment of contented reflection, she says “If I cried the whole time then I wouldn’t have had any fun.”
She came in like a kitten, found her personal power, and went out like a lion.
