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Parenting

21st Aug 2020

Malie Coyne talks about her book Love In Love Out and how to help an anxious child

Melissa Carton

With the pandemic, our children are more anxious than ever.

Ever since the schools closed in March my eldest child has been extremely anxious, to the point where he wouldn’t even leave the house for a walk.

With everything he was hearing from the news he was convinced that if he left the house at all the virus would get him.

Recently I spoke to Clinical Psychologist and author, Malie Coyne about her new book and how as parents we can help our children dealing with anxiety.

 

“I always wanted to write about and I thought what do I want to write about? I have a lot of experience working with children everyday who are anxious and with their parents so that’s what I decided to focus on for Love In Love Out.

The book was supposed to come out earlier but because of COVID-19 it was delayed but maybe it’s better that way because I think parents need help supporting their anxious children more than ever.”

Coyne went on to talk about how as parents we have more control than we think over our child’s anxiety and how Love In Love Out can help;

“It is not commonly known that a parent’s response to their child’s anxiety is a deciding factor in how they will cope.

If we respond calming then so will they but if we are anxious that can feed into their anxiety.

Inhaling Love In and exhaling Love Out reminds parents that if they give themselves warmth and understanding about their own anxieties and the parenting challenges they experience, this paves the way for a sensitive, calm and compassionate response to their child’s anxiety.”

Having read through Love In Love Out myself there was so much that I related to as a parent and as a child that grew up anxious with an anxious parent.

Coyne had a similar experience growing up which she says helped her to create her new book;

“I want to translate the knowledge and experience I’ve gained as an anxious child, as a parent and as a clinical psychologist into something really meaningful and practical which offers hope and compassion for parents and children alike.

I found that while there are lots of parenting books out there, there is nothing like Love In Love Out so I really hope my guidance can help parents.

When I spoke to my father after he read my book one of the first things he said was that he wished there had been a book like it while he was raising me.”

I found it hard to put Love In Love Out down once I started reading it and I’ve already recommended it to several friends.

It’s a book I think every parent needs on their shelf and if you’d like to pick a copy up for yourself you can buy Love In Love Out from Eason stores nationwide and online.