One To Grow On! Philosophy:
From Coping Well to Growing Well...grow the imagination!
“These stories are about teaching our children how to deal with life in the most positive and productive way possible, helping them to create their own very best life.”
Trenna Daniells
Today the demands on our time and our children’s time are becoming even more intense. What happened to play time and time for the imagination? When do we have time to truly relate to our children, and when do they have time to work through the problems and challenges of growing up?
All too often we tuck our little darlings in at bedtime and tell them to dream sweet dreams. Then we see a hint of sadness, a droopy lower lip or the look that says something isn’t right. Our hearts leap out and we want to make it better. But this isn’t a scraped knee. This is a hurt feeling, a damaged ego, guilt, fear or a repressed painful experience. Yes, we can help, but how can we help best?
Stories such as these can assist our children in talking and working through issues. Some events or situations might have hurt our children or scared them so much that they couldn’t imagine verbalizing it.
We must empower them with the tools it takes to grow their self-esteem, with the courage to stay strong in their values when tempted to stray. We must give them the conviction to believe in their dreams when others let them down and to live life as a daring adventure. We must help our children understand that they are responsible for their behavior and actions. They do not need to succumb to being a victim. We must help them build the strength of character and courage they need to cope in our stress-filled world.
Open a channel of communication through the wonder of story time, and it will empower your children with self-esteem, values, and ideals that will impart the tools they need to grow and thrive.
As parents, we feel we should know it all – everything about raising a happy, healthy, fulfilled child. The truth is that none of us knows it all. And we shouldn’t feel guilty or inadequate because of that. What we should realize though, is that there are creative, effective tools available to help us assist our children in learning about values, ideals, forming healthy relationships, responsibility, self-esteem, and the other life skills they need to solve their own problems.
The inspiration for the One to Grow On! Series came from the realization that people best remember ideas told in story form.
As a mother of a typical little boy, I found it nearly impossible to teach him or help him cope through lip service or example alone. He, like most kids, simply tuned out or ‘changed the channel’. As a seminar lecturer, I found that people best remember ideas told to them in story form. Why wouldn’t that approach work with my son?
"Becoming responsible adults is no longer a matter of whether children hang up their pajamas or put dirty towels in the hamper, but whether they care about themselves and others."
– Eda Leshan
By sharing with your children stories in which characters survive and prosper while facing adversity or challenges, you’ll help your child understand that they will survive too.
Hopefully you’ll find these stories to be great tools for generating meaningful interaction with your child on difficult topics and for nurturing the development of their inner strength and character.
Story time can give your child the hope and the strength not only to cope, but also to flourish and grow.
Please visit our website to hear samples and see what parents, children and professionals are saying about these stories.
