The Be Brave Activity Book: 100 Exposure-based Challenges That Dare Kids to Boss Back Their Worry and Anxiety Once and for All

WINNER OF THE INDEPENDENT BOOK PUBLISHERS AWARD (IBPA) IN PSYCHOLOGY 2026

Take your child’s worries from a shriek to a shrug!

Helping anxious kids thrive is about helping them face fears head-on when it matters most. Instead of avoiding spooky stuff, shying away from discomfort, or preventing anxiety from happening at all, we have to help kids feel confident that they can do what matters to them—Pet the dog! Ride the ride! Give the speech!—despite any anxiety that shows up.

Cheering kids on toward a big brave life is what The Be Brave Activity Book is all about. Blending the cutting-edge science of pediatric anxiety treatment with a whole lot of silly fun, each chapter offers a CBT-based introduction to a fear, followed by a series of playful and bravery-building dares (a.k.a. exposures!) to help kiddos go from scared to prepared when it comes to:

• Social anxiety
• School anxiety
• Separation anxiety
• Perfectionism
• Phobias
• Contamination fears
• Intrusive thoughts
• Panic
• Embarrassment
• Uncertainty

Whether you are a clinician, teacher, or parent looking to support your child, these exposures will take kids juuust outside their comfort zone (ahem, the place confidence is born!), so they can learn to live a full, fun, BRAVE life where their anxiety isn’t the boss anymore.

Kathryn F. Hecht, PhD, is a mom, licensed child psychologist, speaker, parent coach, pizza lover, and bravery cheerleader.  A partner at Anxiety Treatment Resources in MN, Dr. Kathryn started out by doing research on how scary and stressful stuff impacts how kids develop. She published a few papers, but what she actually learned from all that work was that kids can handle really hard things, and that all kids can be brave if they get the chance.  She decided to spend her career helping kids be brave, and helping other grown-ups help kids too. The author of DareDecks, she presents both locally and nationally on pediatric anxiety/OCD and exposure-based CBT. Dr. Kathryn can pretend to be a grown-up for about 20 minutes before she reverts to a goofy 9-year-old. She might be eating pizza right now.