Zach Gets Frustrated

Zach and his family go to the beach, but Zach is having a lousy day. First, he dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. Then his best friend went to someone else’s birthday party instead of joining him. But most frustrating of all, he can’t get his kite to fly! Zach kicks sand, yells angry words, and asks his dad if they can just go home now.

Instead, his dad teaches him a simple, three-step approach to get a handle on frustration and find a way to enjoy himself even when things aren’t going his way: (1) name it (why are you frustrated?); (2) tame it (self-regulation exercises such as deep breathing or visualization); (3) reframe it (change your thoughts to change your feelings). Zach Gets Frustrated teaches children social skills they will easily understand and remember. The three-point strategy is presented as the three corners of a triangle and is illustrated using the corners of Zach’s kite.