Katie Lear, Child Counselor, 706 Northeast Drive Ste 1, Davidson, NC (2025)

12/28/2025

Childhood OCD is more common than you might think! Most studies estimate that 1-3% of kids have OCD, although their symptoms are hard to spot and might fly under the radar for a long time.

OCD usually starts when a person is a child or teen, and pretty much everyone with OCD starts getting symptoms before age 25. For childhood-onset OCD, the average age of onset is around 10 years old. It is common for boys to start noticing symptoms a little earlier, while girls might not develop OCD symptoms until later. Some people may not get treatment for OCD until they reach the late teen or adult years, but their problems often began years earlier, during childhood. Addressing symptoms of OCD early can help children manage the disorder and set them up for healthy teen and adult years.

12/27/2025

Therapy isn’t always the best option for families, but tweens experiencing generalized anxiety, panic, and more, need support from parents and loved ones to manage their symptoms. My online course, Worry-Free Tweens, was designed especially for kids ages 8-12 and their parents. In it, you’ll find step-by-step directions for both you and your child on how to manage anxiety, panic, and overwhelming worries at home. https://creative-tween-counseling.teachable.com/p/worry-free-kids

12/21/2025

The death of a grandparent or great-grandparent is another common way children are introduced to grief and loss. This story for young children touches on themes of aging, dementia, and the special relationship that little children and their older relatives can share. Like The Dead Bird, this book focuses more on telling a story than teaching specific concepts about death or grief. It’s an entertaining story for children in its own right that could also lead to some helpful discussions about what happens as grandparents and other loved ones grow old.

This true story, based on author Tomie dePaola’s childhood, explores the relationship between a little boy, his grandmother, and his great-grandmother, who live together in a nearby house. It gently refers to death as a part of life, and something that happens to everyone. While dementia or Alzheimer’s aren’t specifically mentioned, talking about the great-grandmother’s behavior in the story could also be a helpful jumping-off point for conversations about these illnesses in real life.

12/20/2025

Generalized anxiety disorder presents itself in many ways. Here are some signs to look out for in children.

💭 A lot of time spent worrying about things that could happen in the future, whether or not they seem very likely to happen.
💭 Frequent complaints of headaches, tummy troubles, or other problems that don’t seem to have a medical cause.
💭 Your child seems to worry more often and more intensely than other kids of the same age, and has a harder time setting his worries aside.
💭 As soon as one worry gets resolved, another seems to rise up to take its place. The worries shift rapidly from topic to topic.
💭 Your child is extremely worried about bad things happening to herself or to you, even if you’ve never been in a dangerous situation before.
💭 Mildly stressful events at school cause major anxiety, for example, a test, big project, or a competitive game.

If your child is experiencing one or more of these, it may be worth considering treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.

12/14/2025

Many children’s first encounter with death will be the death of an animal. Whether it’s a pet or simply an animal found outdoors, talking about nature and animal deaths can be a good introduction to conversations about grief and loss. The Dead Bird doesn’t go out of its way to teach young readers specifics about grief or death. It’s just a story about preschool children who discover a dead bird while outside and hold a funeral for it.

If you’ve ever been in a similar situation with your preschooler, you might have been surprised by the seemingly morbid curiosity little kids can display when they find a dead animal. It may seem weird to adults, but it’s totally natural for children to wonder about what physically happens when a living thing dies. Similarly, this story has some descriptions of death that might seem jarring at first: it describes how the bird’s body starts off as warm, and then becomes cool and stiff. Learning this kind of information can help children begin to differentiate between living and dead and understand that death is permanent.

This is a classic, older book that’s been updated with new illustrations showing a diverse group of kids. It’s a good option for a first conversation about death, or to help children better understand funerals and mourning.

12/13/2025

It’s normal to experience worry in life, which can make GAD hard to spot. Here’s how worries from generalized anxiety disorder is distinct from non-disordered worries:

👉There isn’t a more obvious reason for the worrying, such as a recent trauma.
👉The worrying has to happen most days, and last at least 6 months.
👉The worries are very difficult to control—the child can’t easily shift away from them.
👉The anxiety affects the child physically or mentally in that they experience feeling on edge, fatigue, trouble concentrating, irritability, body aches, muscle tension, or problems falling/staying asleep
👉The anxiety (or the physical and mental problems it causes) get in the way of a child’s day-to-day life, and make it harder to participate in activities at school or home.

12/08/2025

Preschoolers and kindergarteners may already be familiar with Todd Parr’s popular book series. The bright style of his illustrations is easy to recognize. The Goodbye Book is short and sweet, with basic vocabulary and only one sentence per page, making it ideal for very young readers. The language is simple, but the ideas are pretty grown-up.

Each page describes a different feeling or symptom a person may experience after a loved one dies, such as pretending the death never happened or not wanting to do fun things anymore. Young children will get reassurance that all these grief responses are normal and okay, and that they become easier to manage as time passes. The book never specifically mentions death, only goodbyes.

12/06/2025

As a children’s therapist, I am always on the lookout for good books for my play therapy office. Something that’s important to me is that books about tough subjects don’t feel too “therapy-ish.” Really good stories for children don’t feel like after school specials or counseling in disguise, even when the topic is heavy.

Good storytelling—likable characters, strong writing, and beautiful illustrations—hold a child’s interest and help them connect emotionally with what they’re learning. I think even little children can sense the difference between a book focused on storytelling and a book that isn’t.

11/29/2025

This is especially true for kids. They are still learning about the world, so it makes sense that they’d be on high alert in new situations. It’s totally normal, age-appropriate, and even healthy for kids to worry sometimes. But kids (and adults) with generalized anxiety disorder have an unhealthy level of anxiety. Their stress level can be out of proportion to the actual situation; and it can be hard to get that stress under control. The worry these kids experience can be so intense that it affects their sleep or leads to physical problems like tension headaches and fatigue.

11/23/2025

The stakes can feel really high when we’re talking to kids about grief. This sensitive, vulnerable little person is depending on us to help them figure out a life-altering event. There’s a lot of pressure to not mess up. What if you say something wrong, and end up doing more harm than good?

You’ve probably heard this great Maya Angelou quote – it applies to grief too. . Children may not hang on to your every word for the rest of their lives, but they’ll remember the ways that you helped them to feel safe and supported.

It’s okay if your response to your child is honest, but awkwardly worded. It’s okay if a conversation falls a little flat. It’s even okay if you misspeak, and need to come back later and make things right. What’s most important is that you’re keeping lines of communication open with your child. If you miss an opportunity, don’t worry—you’ll get another one. You are letting your child know that you care, and that you’ll be there for them when they’re ready.

11/22/2025

It’s normal for grieving people of any age to think about their loved ones more on special days. Anniversaries, milestones, and holidays can bring up difficult feelings at times of the year when we’re “supposed” to be happy. The mixed feelings can be a lot for a young person to handle.

Grieving kids have another layer of complexity to deal with, too: the older they get, the more they understand their loss. With each passing month or year, a grieving child becomes older and wiser. The realization that death is permanent really starts to sink in. Celebrations and anniversaries are a reminder of everything a child has lost: not just their loved one, but all the memories that they could have made together.

With your words or with your actions, you can let your child know they’re not alone in thinking about their loved one. Share a funny story about them, light a candle, or just let your child know they’ve been on your mind. There isn’t a timeline on grief, and sharing your own thoughts takes pressure off your child to just “get over it” and move on.

11/17/2025

Parents and caregivers sometimes worry that bringing up a deceased loved one in conversation could upset their child. They realize that it can be painful to bring up old memories, and the child has already suffered so much pain. So if a child isn’t talking about the death, should adults around them bring it up?

Of course, we never want to force children to talk when they aren’t feeling up to it. On the other hand, if adults never talk about their grief, it can give children the mistaken idea that it’s not okay for them to talk about it, either. Kids often worry a lot about their caregivers following a death, and pay close attention to their responses to grief. Your child may interpret silence as a sign that you aren’t ready to talk, or that hearing about your child’s grief would be too much for you to bear.
It’s okay to take the lead on conversations about grief. It’s not too forward to ask your child how they have been feeling. If they say they’ve been fine or haven’t been thinking about their loved one lately, that’s just fine—there’s no need to push. You can always try again another time.

Sharing your own thoughts and feelings about grief can be really helpful, too. It can help make painful emotions feel less taboo to talk about. By bringing up your own positive and negative emotions, you’re letting your child know that you can handle hearing about theirs.

Katie Lear, Child Counselor

12/28/2025

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