Jerry Wilde, associate professor of educational psychology, was on “Wake Up With Whoopi” Tuesday morning to provide parents with tips on talking with their children about the images surrounding September, 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq. Whoopi Goldberg’s radio show stream’s live on the internet and cities across the nation.

Wilde recently published a book for children ages 9-12 on how to deal with depression and self-esteem. “Hot Stuff to Help Kids Cheer Up” provides kids with the information and tools to break loose from depression and self-esteem. Kids work through the book to apply the techniques as well as teaming with their parents to deal with their feelings in a positive way.

Wilde drew on his prior experience as a school psychologist when writing the book. He hopes the book will teach kids the ability to understand and conquer depression and low self-esteem.

“Depression in children and adults is a lot more common than people realize. There are a lot of families that do not have the resources to get help for their kids,” Wilde said. “This book could be one tool parents can have to help their children. It’s not a substitute for mental health services but there are literally tens of thousands of children and adolescents who are getting very little support.”

During the interview, Wilde provided information for parents on how to help their children understand the images in the news surrounding the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks or Iraq. Wilde encouraged parents to get their children into a conversation and give them permission to express their feelings on what they are seeing on the news. He also provided signs to watch for in your child including difficulty sleeping or fearfulness.

The interview is available online at http://whoopi.com/audio.html. Wilde’s interview is during the third hour.