Helping Parents Raise Resilient Kids in an Age of Eco-Anxiety
Our children are growing up in a world filled with headlines they didn’t choose.
Raising Anti-Doomers helps parents navigate climate anxiety in children and eco-anxiety in kids with practical, evidence-aligned tools. Learn how to talk to kids about climate change, reduce overwhelm, and help kids cope with climate anxiety, one small habit at a time.
Ariella Cook-Shonkoff, LMFT, ATR — Integrative Body-Mind & Eco-Art Therapist
Ariella Cook-Shonkoff is a researcher and advocate focused on climate anxiety, intergenerational resilience, and mental health.
Praise for Raising Anti-Doomers
Therapist Cook-Shonkoff’s insightful debut aims to help parents keep their families grounded during the current “polycrisis”…. This smart, straightforward guide is a must for parents hoping to raise kids who will be part of the solution.
— Publishers Weekly
“It is a tough time to be a parent, but this book will make it markedly easier. It will equip you and your family to make a real difference in the crucial and beautiful battle for a working future.”
— Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun
“This guide is a much-needed resource that will help parents and kids meet the realities of climate change together, and forge ahead with resilience and hope.”
— Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods
“Some of my biggest fears as a parent are that I am not leaving my kids with the tools they need to sustain the planet, and that they will tell me my pants are dorky. This book helps alleviate one of those fears.”
— Samantha Bee, comedian
Climate Anxiety in Children
Why Climate Anxiety Is Increasing in Kids Today
Climate anxiety in children, sometimes called eco-anxiety, refers to feelings of fear, worry, or distress about climate change and the future of the planet. Many kids today are aware of environmental challenges through school, media, and conversations at home. For some, this awareness can lead to sleep disruption, emotional overwhelm, or persistent questions about safety and the future.
Climate anxiety is not irrational. It reflects empathy and awareness. The goal is not to eliminate concern, but to help children build resilience, emotional regulation skills, and a sense of agency in uncertain times.
Parents play a critical role in shaping how children process climate information. Calm, grounded conversations and practical coping tools can transform fear into empowered action.
This is where Raising Anti-Doomers begins, offering parents practical tools to guide these conversations with calm and clarity.
What You'll Gain
Practical tools for calm conversations, micro-resets, and resilient families.
How to Talk About Climate Without Panicking
Swap fear-amplifying patterns for calm, honest, age-appropriate conversations.
How to Turn Big Feelings Into Action
Guide kids from overwhelm to doable steps that build agency and hope.
Daily Micro-Resets, Five To Ten Minutes
Short, repeatable practices for mornings, transitions, and bedtime.
Art, Nature, And Movement
Creative, body-based tools to regulate, co-regulate and express complex emotions.
How to Create a Crisis-resilient Home
Screens, news, and calm homes set with intention, boundaries and collaboration
Age-By-Age Guidance
From toddlers to teens, adapt language, expectations, and tools to your kid’s stage.
About Ariella
“I help families grow resilience, connection, and calm even when the world feels loud.”
Ariella Cook-Shonkoff, LMFT, ATR bridges clinical practice, somatic tools, and art and nature-based creativity. Her work translates psychology into routines and concept illustrations that actually fit family life.
Through her integrative approach combining body-mind therapy and eco-art practices, Ariella empowers parents with strategies that honor both children's developmental needs and the realities of our changing world.
Read her work here:
Inside the Book
Ten chapters, three parts, one calm plan for real families.
Parenthood, Rebooted (Ch.1–3)
Reset your role as a parent for today’s world and find your footing when life feels loud.
Anxiety, And Other Emotions (Ch.2 & 5)
Learn how anxiety moves through families and how to build a healthy home routine.
Tools for Emotional Regulation (Ch.3 & 6)
Face hard realities and use short daily practices that fit family life and models for your kids.
Community & Hope (Ch.7–10)
Strengthen identity, work across generations, and keep a clear, anti-doomer vision for the future.
Speaking & Events
Topics
Parenting Through Climate Emotions
Strategies for Calm Kids & Families
Nature-based Practices / eco-art therapy
Self-care in a tumultuous world
Customizable
Available Formats
- School PTAs / Assemblies
- Workshops/Conferences
- Book Clubs
Media & Press
Available for interviews, podcasts, and expert commentary on parenting through climate change and family resilience.
Raising Anti-Doomers Book Preview
This video introduces Raising Anti-Doomers by Ariella Cook-Shonkoff, a guide to helping families build emotional resilience in the face of climate anxiety. Ariella shares key insights on how parents and caregivers can talk with children about climate change in grounded, practical ways.
Video preview of Raising Anti-Doomers with Ariella Cook-Shonkoff, offering strategies for parents and caregivers addressing climate anxiety and family resilience.
Get in touch
Questions, media inquiries, or speaking requests—send a note and we’ll reply within 1–3 business days
Climate Anxiety & Parenting: Your Questions Answered
Still wondering if this book is right for your family? These answers will help you decide with confidence.
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Climate anxiety in children refers to feelings of fear, worry, or distress about climate change and the future of the planet. It can show up as sleep disruption, questions about safety, or emotional overwhelm. It is a rational response to real-world uncertainty.
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Start with curiosity. Ask what they already know and how they feel. Offer age-appropriate facts, focus on solutions and community action, and avoid overwhelming them with catastrophic details. Emphasize agency and shared responsibility.
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Yes. Eco-anxiety is increasingly common among children and teens. Feeling concern about climate change reflects awareness and empathy. The goal is not to eliminate the feeling, but to help children build resilience and coping tools.
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Parents can reduce climate anxiety by modeling calm conversations, limiting media overload, building daily emotional regulation practices, and engaging in meaningful climate action together. Small, consistent actions create psychological safety.
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Yes. Raising Anti-Doomers integrates research in psychology, child development, climate science communication, and intergenerational resilience, alongside practical tools families can use immediately.
Ready to raise resilient, hopeful kids?
A grounded, research-informed guide for navigating climate anxiety with your child. Join thousands of parents who are building stronger, calmer families with Anti-Doomers.
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