Resources for supporting children
Supporting Children
Therapeutic resources
Booklist for working with children
Recommended children’s booklist from practioners who attend the CDVA Community of Practice
- Shine booklets. Children and Young People’s Services Committee, Monaghan developed, SHINE. These are a series of booklets developed to support Children and Young People explore and manage their emotions while learning about healthy relationships, boundaries, and staying safe:
Guidelines on using these booklet can be found here.
Further safety planning resources and other resources available
- Karen Treisman Resources: About us | Safe Hands Thinking Minds
Karen has extensive experience in the areas of trauma, parenting, adversity (ACE’s) and attachment, and works clinically using a range of therapeutic approaches with families, systems, and children. Of her many resources for working with children, Karen recommended these resources for working with children who have lived with DVA: Neon the ninja, Presley the pug, cleo the Croc and taya the tortoise. All are available either through her website or amazon.
Book:
When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Heal the Wounds of Witnessing Abuse
- Written by a therapist who specializes in abusive men, this guide reveals how abusers interact with and manipulate children–and how mothers can help their children recover from the trauma of witnessing abuse. Link to purchase
Workbook:
- Talking to My Mum: A Picture Workbook for Workers, Mothers and Children Affected by Domestic Abuse
- Talking to My Mum is an activity pack for five-eight-year-olds whose families have experienced domestic abuse to help and encourage them to open up to their mothers about their distressing experiences. Link to purchase.
- Talking about Domestic Abuse: A Photo Activity Workbook to Develop Communication between Mothers and Young People
- Talking about Domestic Abuse is an activity pack for children of nine years and above and adolescents where families have experienced domestic abuse, to help and encourage them to open up to their mothers about their distressing experiences. Link to purchase
‘Safety Planning Through the Eyes of Children’
This workbook is a therapeutic intervention tool which uses a compilation of true life stories from children’s experience of domestic abuse, to help children develop their own Safety Plan.
- Safety+Planning++Booklet.pdf (storat-us-east.s3.amazonaws.com)
- Facilitators+Manual.pdf (storat-us-east.s3.amazonaws.com)
Court Family Court Through the Eyes of Children’: A workbook for children whose families are going through the court process due to domestic abuse-This workbook is a therapeutic intervention tool which uses real life stories to help teenagers understand the court process as a result of domestic abuse in their family.
- Court+booklet.pdf (storat-us-east.s3.amazonaws.com)
- Facilitators+Manual.pdf (storat-us-east.s3.amazonaws.com)
Teenage dating awareness raising:
- Spiralling video – link to where to find it: Spiralling Toolkit and DVD: Young People and Domestic Violence and Abuse on Vimeo
- Toolkit on using the video: spiralling_toolkit.pdf (thehideout.org.uk)
Booklist for working with children living with DVA
Floss and the Boss : Helping Children Learn About Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control
The story explores how things change when her Mum’s new friend, Boss, comes into their lives. It helps children who have experienced domestic abuse and trauma to make sense of their feelings, teaching them to seek help and stay safe. Floss and the Boss
When My Parents Forgot How to Be Friends; Jennifer Moore-Mallinos. This sensitively written book assures boys and girls that children are in no way responsible for their parents’ inability to get along together. It lets kids know that although one parent chooses to move away from the home, both parents continue to love their little boy or girl.
The red beast: K.I. Al-Ghani. Fully illustrated children’s storybook is written for children aged 5-9, and is an accessible, fun way to talk about anger, with useful tips about how to ‘tame the red beast’ The Red Beast
Children don’t divorce by R Stones. When parents separate, children can feel torn in two. Aimed at 5-7 year olds this sensitively written story looks at separation and divorce from the child’s angle. children dont divorce
Tulip Doesn’t Feel Safe : Helping Kids Deal with Unsafe Situations. The story begins at school as Tulip and her friend Pickle learn about STOP and Helping Hands, two methods, children can use in unsafe or violent circumstances.
Spark Learns to Fly: Judith Foxon. Spark the dragon lives happily with his parents and baby sister, Flame, until his mum and dad start fighting. Sparks learns to fly
Is It Right to Fight? : A First Look at Anger. Spats are normal among younger kids, and often lead to screaming, hitting and other expressions of anger. Helps kids understand that it’s often all right to be angry, but that it’s always best to resolve conflicts peaceably. Is it right to fight
When my worries get too big by KD, Buron. Illustrated children’s book is filled with opportunities for children to participate in developing their own self-calming strategies. When my worries get to big
The Huge Bag of Worries; Virginia Ironside. A reassuring picture book encouraging children to open up about their fears and anxieties to help manage their feelings.Huge bag of worries
The invisible string: Patrice Karst. The Invisible String the perfect tool for coping with all kinds of separation anxiety, loss, and grief. In this relatable and reassuring contemporary classic, a mother tells her two children that they’re all connected by an invisible string. The invisible string
Have I given you my CONSENT? by Kim May. An educational book aimed at children aged 3-8 years to encourage them to speak up in situations where they may be feeling uncomfortable. We need to encourage children to take control of their body and personal space from an early age Have I given you my consent
It’s all OK By Me by Kim May. We want children to grow up in a world free from bias and discrimination, to reach for their dreams and feel that whatever they want to accomplish in life is possible. ITs all ok by me
The family book by Todd Parr. The Family Book celebrates the love we feel for our families and all the different varieties they come in. The Family Book
Don’t hit my mommy by Alicia F. Lieberman and Patricia van Horn. This book is a manual for Child-Parent Psychotherapy with young witnesses of family violence. It offers treatment guidelines to address the behavioural and mental health problems of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers whose most intimate relationships are disrupted by the experience of violence. Dont hit my mommy