Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Non-fiction
Length: 288 pages
Author: Alyssa Blask Campbell & Rachel Stuart Lounder
Publisher: Harvest
Release Date: September 16th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the coauthor of Tiny Humans, Big Emotions, a guide to supporting children’s social and emotional growth through the elementary school years (ages 5–12), a critical but often-overlooked developmental stage.

TOO OLD FOR TANTRUMS

TOO YOUNG FOR TEENAGE DRAMA

Meltdowns. Name-calling. Hitting, kicking, and hair pulling. Except, these aren’t the toddler years. Why is your elementary schooler still having these outbursts?

Long thought of as years when parents can finally enjoy calmer kids and deal with less emotional volatility and tears, the elementary school years are anything but. During these pivotal years, our children navigate a new set of social and emotional challenges. From playground bullying to cliques and exclusion, ever-increasing academic challenges—and plenty of physical growth and hormonal changes thrown in the mix—the elementary school years are more complicated than most parents realize.

Big Kids, Bigger Feelings is the guide you need to help your child thrive during these developmentally complex and wonderful years. The social and emotional skills you provide your children with now will prepare them for a lifetime of self-advocacy and stronger emotional intelligence. Campbell’s revolutionary Collaborative Emotion Processing (CEP) method, used in preschool and elementary school environments, teaches you how to work with your children to help them understand how they are feeling and process their big emotions in healthy, constructive ways. Discover how

Teach kids to handle unkind behaviors and set boundaries. Help kids learn to regulate themselves when they feel angry, sad, and upset, Manage technology use in a safe and healthy way, Navigate puberty, body changes, sex, drugs, and other important topics, Develop a deeper connection with your child. The elementary school years are rife with change—from changing bodies to changing social structures—and there’s never a better time to help your kids handle these ever-increasing challenges so they can thrive today and tomorrow.  

WORTH THE LISTEN.

I’m fairly anti-self help/parenting books because I’ve seen many lean on them TOO much, but occasionally I want to read one and touch base with how I’m feeling towards how I’m parenting and I thought this was a good listen.

I liked that it wasn’t a one size fit all or you MUST do it this way. There were multiple mentions of studies and recent data about everything from risky behaviors to screen use. I liked the implementation ideas and that reading this didn’t make me feel like I was a bad parent.

There were some ideas I hadn’t considered or want to look into more and I think that’s the sign of a good non-fiction book too. Will I take every single thing here and use it? No and that’s okay (and the point honestly). I found enough to ponder that I think it’s a solid read if you’re looking for a little extra help.

Overall audience notes:

• Non-fiction
• Language: none

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