Stepping Up: A Calm-Down Strategy for Anxious Kids

By Margo Rader

Stepping Up: A Calm-Down Strategy for Anxious Kids
A picture book to help children manage anxiety, redirect scary thoughts, and build emotional resilience.

Does your child struggle with anxious thoughts at bedtime, during transitions, or when facing the unknown?

Stepping Up offers kids a playful and empowering strategy to calm their minds when fear takes over. Inspired by brain-based approaches, this beautifully illustrated book introduces the idea of the "basement brain"-a place our thoughts go when we're overwhelmed by fear or worry-and shows kids how to climb back up with the power of creativity and curiosity.

I wrote this book for my own son, and he asked that I publish it for other kids that struggle with nighttime fears, anxiety, or nightmares.

In this story, a young child begins to spiral into scary thoughts at night, feeling like they're heading down a staircase into their "basement brain." But with each brave, silly, or colorful thought-like rainbow-colored armadillos or dragons with candy cane scales-they take a step back up toward peace.

Why parents, therapists, teachers, and counselors love this book:

✅ Uses child-friendly metaphors rooted in neuroscience (like Dan Siegel's "upstairs/downstairs brain")

✅ Offers a repeatable calm-down strategy kids can use anywhere

✅ Helps children recognize and redirect anxious thinking

✅ Encourages emotional regulation through creativity

✅ Includes four interactive pages at the end for kids to create their own imaginative scenes

Perfect for:

Children who struggle with fear or anxiety

Bedtime routines and transition support

Play therapy and counseling sessions

Classrooms and social-emotional learning (SEL) groups

Homes where kids need help naming and navigating big feelings

If your child ever gets "stuck in their basement brain," this book will help them learn to pause, imagine, and step back up-one silly thought at a time.

Stepping Up offers a fresh, whimsical, and practical take on managing childhood anxiety.

Give your child a calming tool they'll want to return to again and again.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FHX2F6ZN
• ISBN13: 9798289251756
• Release Date: July 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 54 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"