Base Camp Parenting

The Chapters

Explore each chapter as it uncovers practical parenting insights, real-life experiences, and meaningful lessons to help you navigate every stage of your family’s journey.

Chapter 1 – Worry Less? Are You Kidding?

In this introductory chapter, you will discover why worrying about your children feels essential yet is, in fact, not helpful. With compassion for the many cultural pressures that can generate worry, you will learn why worrying less is a more effective path to coping and to helping your kids more.

Chapter 2 – Base Camp

Here’s where you learn about the guiding principles of the Base Camp Parenting approach. In this chapter, we provide clear, research-supported descriptions of both the role of a beneficial Base Camp Leader (i.e., effective parent) and the resources that contribute most to children’s health, well-being, and resilience. 

Chapter 3 – How Worrying Shifts Parents and Their Base Camps

This chapter dives deep into the problematic impact of worrying on you and the conditions in your Base Camp. You will discover why worry is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing rather than your ally. When you befriend worry, you are more likely to become WARPed – Wracked with worry, Angsty, Reactive, and Profoundly tired – than to discover anything helpful for your Base Camp.

Chapter 4 – The Inner World of Children: How Brains and Beliefs Develop

In these pages, you will find an easy-to-understand overview of how children’s brains and beliefs form and grow. You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to children’s thoughts and feelings about themselves, you, and the world.

Chapter 5 – The Impact of Worrying on Children’s Development

Worrying isn’t benign. It impacts your children in ways you never intend. This chapter illustrates the adverse (albeit unintended) impact of worrying on your children. It also describes how worrying less can increase your children’s resilience and lower their risk of developing an anxiety disorder.

Chapter 6 – Spot It! Clues to Detect Worry-Generated Shifts

If you can’t spot worry and its impact, you can’t shift away from it. In this chapter, you will learn the skills for recognizing the many ways worry shows up in your mind and body. Spotting prepares you for what to do NEXT.

Chapter 7 – Shift It! What to Do NEXT After You Spot It

This is the heart and soul of Base Camp Parenting. It’s where you learn the fundamental steps for worrying less, getting your shift together, and coping more! We don’t just tell you to worry less, we show you how to do it. Included in these pages are easy-to-follow instructions for what to do N.E.X.T. when you spot worried thinking. 

Chapter 8 – Keep on Coping: Base Camp Mantras That Help Kids More

When you are learning a new skill, reminders can be very helpful. The mantras in this chapter will help you remember that the goal is to worry less and cope more. You can think of them as signposts to guide the choices you make— leading you toward more clarity, perspective, and courage. 

Chapter 9 – The Zebra Pants and Other True Stories

In this chapter, we share real-life stories about clients who learned how to worry less. They illustrate the beneficial impact of getting your shift together. We hope they inspire you to find the confidence and courage to get your shift together and make similar health-promoting changes in your Base Camp.

Chapter 10 – Managing the Impact of Conditions Beyond Your Control

In these final pages, we pull it all together and illustrate how to use the tools from Part 2 to manage in the face of social and cultural pressures. You will read about some common interlopers (i.e., influential factors over which you have little control) that affect you, your Base Camp, and your children. We also provide detailed examples that demonstrate the positive benefits of getting your shift together when managing situations influenced by interlopers.