“She is always asking the same questions over and over. Even though I answer her, she keeps asking again. I think she’s anxious, and I don’t know how to help her.”
“My daughter seems fine all day and then when she lays down to go to bed at night, she is flooded with worry about everything. It is interrupting her sleep. And then she worries about not getting enough sleep. It’s an endless cycle!”
“She is a really fun, outgoing kid in so many ways, however, when it comes to talking with kids her own age, she shuts down. I am worried she isn’t making friends.”
“I want my daughter to have the tools she needs to deal with things that worry her. I want her to feel like she can support herself and not have to rely solely on me.”
“Her tummy hurts all the time. We have gone to the doctor several times who said this is anxiety. Can you help her?”
“I tell her all the time what she can do to help herself, but she won’t do it. I have read books and listen to podcasts, but she won’t budge. We need help!”
I get tons of calls each week from parents looking for help for their girl just like the one’s described above. While I don’t want girls suffering, I do love these calls because I have the knowledge, training, and tools to help your child reduce their anxiety and improve their ability to cope.
Wise Girl Workshops Worry Free Toolkit is chalked full of activities and exercises to build an arsenal of tools to support your daughter when anxiety strikes. Not only that, your child will learn how to recognize when anxiety is starting to rear its ugly head.
One of the best parts this workshop also offers is for girls to feel and see they aren’t alone. Girls love to connect with one another about life’s challenges. It helps them feel relief and normal when someone has had a mutual experience.
Please give your girl the gift of real help in managing her worry. Reserve her spot by sending an email here.
Summer 2019 Workshop Series
5th/6th grade July 15-18 Whole Girl Toolkit
7th/8th grade July 22-25 Worry Free ToolkitSubscribe
5th/6th grade July 29-August 1 Worry Free Toolkit CURRENTLY FULL–WAITLIST
9th/10th grade August 5-8 Whole Girl/Worry Free Toolkit
Tina Parrish, certified personal trainer, working hard to feel good.
Wise Girl Workshops is introducing Tina Parrish, a certified personal trainer, who is teaming up with Wise Girl Workshops to offer a fitness and body component to the several series of workshops this summer. Check out a little Q&A to get to know Tina and her work better and help you decide if Wise Girl Workshops is where your girl needs to be this summer!
How did you get into physical fitness instruction?
While I’ve always been active – I played both competitive and recreational sports in high school and college – I took movement for granted and didn’t think about making a career of it until my mid-thirties. I thought everyone moved like I did and that is wasn’t a special skill to have, so I didn’t listen to my inner voice. It wasn’t until I started working in a community center as a swim instructor and was given an opportunity to teach water fitness that I witnessed a need for safe and effective movement, especially with older adults and those that were injured. I was also told I was good at it, and this pushed me to listen more to myself.
What kind of clients do you work with?
I work with all ages and abilities, and think of everyone as a bio-individual who will respond to movement in a unique way. I use both the water and land to train; you don’t find a lot of on-land personal trainers who can unlock the power of water, and that’s one of my niches. I also like working with young girls/teens, and teaching them movement can help develop confidence and manage anxiety or other big feelings they are dealing with.
How are you able to reach young girls/teens through movement?
Remember my own vulnerability. Everyone who is asked to move is also being asked to if they are willing to be vulnerable, to do something they might not be good at, be embarrassed, or to even fail. Movement can actually push through a lot of these roadblocks and build something better inside and out. Young girls/teens need a positive outlet that is of their own creation, that isn’t hinged on a screen or the opinion of another. Something they can see has been there their whole life, and will be there tomorrow, giving them endless benefits. I aim to create “life-long movers” when I work with this population, getting them past the idea that fitness means competition or perfection, but rather movement is freedom, exploration, science and art.
Dealing with teens, you might also be dealing with body image. Where you always happy with your body image?
I’ve always been thin or what I technically know now is called ectomorphic, a body image term used for those who have difficultly gaining weight. Although that sounds like the ideal problem to have, my struggle with body image feels just as real as anyone else’s. The desire for change can plague us all. The key is doing something about those feelings, and I find using movement makes myself and the clients I work with feel so much better about where health is headed. I think of losing weight or gaining muscle a side effect and not the main goal to feeling truly healthy, which also requires emotional and mental changes.
What keeps you on the cutting edge of movement?
I never stop learning. That can be through ideas I pick up on social media, feedback from students, new certifications, or even great quotes. I tend to think I’m only as good as the last class I taught so I constantly push to make the next class better. Also, because exercise and medical science is always changing, I need to stay on top of concepts that could help one of my clients. Recent studies show positive effects of performing :20-second high-intensity intervals, so through this application I have been able to help one client control their blood sugar and another lower their blood pressure. What I learn can make a difference in someone’s life.
What is currently exciting to you about the field of health and fitness?
Functional medicine excites me. Our current “sickcare” system is failing so many people, especially those with chronic metabolic or degenerative conditions like diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Our overworked doctors and medical professionals, to no fault of their own, received conventional care training where the solutions involve drugs and a “sad” diet (the Standard American Diet of high carbs, low fat). If I use more of an integrative health coach approach with my clients, which means looking at their sleep, gut health or diet, stress, exercise, and even collaborate with other providers they might be working with such as a nutritionist or physical therapist, I can better get to the root cause of their issues. This is the functional medicine approach, and it helps people lose weight, get off pills, and feel better than they have in years. I learn a lot from field leaders like Chris Kresser and Dr. Mark Hyman.
You can find out more about Tina and her services here.
Your daughter NEEDS to develop HEALTHY tools to handle emotions. Our foundation for how we handle things in life is being set now. Let’s give them something solid to stand on. HEALTHY coping skills includes journaling, exercise, talking to a supportive person, affirmations, goal setting, prayer, etc.
Parents can’t do it alone. At this age and stage of your child’s development, she is beginning to look to others to provide answers and advice. You may even have a child who puts down everything you say. Why not let a trained professional help her in an area where all girls could use a boost?
UNHEALTHY coping skills can take over and cause life long problems. Keep in mind, unhealthy tools can become addictive behaviors like alcohol, drugs, sex, computers, gambling, eating issues, cutting. Let’s get these girls off on the right foot for coping.
We need the opportunity to be real and see real. Social media is crushing our girls in so many ways. Girls are being smothered by images of how they should look, what they should buy, who they should like, and being bullied like no other time in history. Kids have constant access to say what they want under “anonymous” posts or feeling free to say what they want behind the screen and real girls are the casualties. In this workshop series, girls will have the opportunity to see what real girls look like, how they feel, and connect in a safe and caring environment.
