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Little Girl’s Book Club

Little Girl’s Book Club

January 9, 2013

Sweetly Six’s “BunBun” at the Bookstore Tomorrow evening, Sweetly Six and I are attending our very first Little Girl’s book club where we will be discussing Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary.  We are both so excited. A friend of ours put the group together by thoughtfully assembling five girlfriends who love to read. Sweetly Six has read for as long as I can remember. Frequently she says to the HOTY and me, “I love being a book worm!” …which is Silver Lined music to my ears! There are tons of Silver Linings to a children’s book club. Here are my top 10 reasons why I’m especially excited about participating in our new book club: They provide a comfortable, communal atmosphere that promotes reading, critical thinking, and expressing ideas. It provides an extra-special glimpse of how and what children are really thinking about the world. They are a fantastic place to promote learning master literary …

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Children’s Series: Approach-Approach Conflict

Have you ever been in a situation in which you can’t decide between two desirable (or even really awesome) things? For example: chocolate or vanilla? Or decisions of a more impactful nature such as: do I take an incredible job (one I’ve always wanted) or stay home to raise my child full time (what I’ve also always wanted). In the last month, our daughter, a/k/a Sweetly Six has been faced with multiple circumstances in which she was pulled between equally wonderful things, people and opportunities. Usually a decisive child, I noticed that during this period she took much longer to make decisions or even became frustrated and anxious over the (seemingly) simplest of choices. The explanation for her frustration and indecision is because the pull (even though toward equally great things) is inherently stressful and has the potential to create an unstable equilibrium.  In 1931, psychologist Kurt Lewin identified this …

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Talking with Children about Tragedy

With the tragic, unthinkable, and unbearable mass shooting in Connecticut on Friday, the world is reeling. This massacre didn’t just happen in Sandy Hook. It happened everywhere because Sandy Hook Elementary is every school. One of the (many!) sequelae is how to help children through this trauma. The fact that we even have to help children through something so catastrophic is unimaginable because, really, who on earth could possibly have imagined something so evil? Here are some suggestions for helping children: Encourage ongoing dialogue. Keep the lines of communication open at all time. Listen and reassure. Turn OFF the television. Encourage feedback. Normalize feelings, whatever they may be whenever they may present. Use the conversation as an opportunity for learning. Maintain a consistent routine because children equate a routine with stability and security. The important thing to know is that children take their coping cues from us, the trusted adults in their lives. …

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Gift Guide: Children

Gift Guide: Children

December 11, 2012

Below are some of my fave children’s gifts to give this holiday season. A little for the outside and a little for the inside…and a little left to the imagination (Silver Lining).  Princess Leia is topping Sweetly Six’s list this year. Just sayin’… Here are the sources for the goodies (as you know I don’t receive a penny for endorsing these or any other products!): Classic ViewMaster 3D Viewer and Collector Reel: http://www.amazon.com/Classic-ViewMaster-Viewer-Collector-Reel/dp/B000IOGVM4  Puffin Classics Books: http://juniperbooks.com/store-2/puffin-classics-set-of-10/ Zen Ball (that imitates the sound of drums used by Buddhist monks): http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/zen-ball TOM’s Shoes: http://www.toms.com Princess Leia Minifigure (uh huh!): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TLXZRY/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002KNZ81G&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=15BN49P7PCT6E39X8S4H Oscar de la Renta headband: http://www.oscardelarenta.com/children/ Sign language and braille alphabet blocks: http://www.givesimple.com/braille-and-sign-language-blocks

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When a Parent Has Cancer

When a Parent Has Cancer

December 6, 2012

For the past few days, I’ve felt a little under the weather. It’s funny (not in a “Ha Ha” kind of way) how sensitive I still am…how just feeling puny can take me back to my FBC (f-bomb breast cancer for new readers) days. When I was first diagnosed with FBC, my first thought wasn’t about me. Rather (as is the case with most parents), I wondered how on earth I could be a good mom to my daughter who, at the time was 4 3/4. One of the first things that I did was create an “energy bank.” I spent most days in the horizontal position resting (to the best of my ability) in an effort to accumulate even the teeniest bit of energy that I could “spend” on our daughter when she came home from school. On days that I was in the bottomless pit of chemo despair …

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Big Questions from Little People and Simple Answers from Great Minds

Hope that you all have had a beautiful, ThankFULL weekend!  I’ve been brimming over with ideas and topics about which to write, so get ready. Let me begin the week with the most divine feel-good book that recently came into my life: Questions from Little People and Simple Answers from Great Minds. In this book, Gemma Elwin Harris asked thousands of primary school children between the ages of four and twelve to send her their questions and then invited some of today’s most prominent scientists, philosophers, and writers to answer them. Isn’t that so clever? This book is not only charming but also quite informative!  Here are some of my favorites: Alain de Botton explores why we have dreams Particle physicist and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss explains why we’re all made of stardust Neuroscientist David Eagleman explains why we can’t tickle ourselves And this is one of my favorites: If you don’t …

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Why Princess Leia is a Silver Lining

  Halloween is a ginormous deal in our family. Sweetly Six eagerly awaits this day for what seems like years (every year!). We usually don’t commit to a costume until about 72 hours before the big day because typically Sweetly Six cannot finalize her decision. This year, however, is an altogether different year. For months she has known that she would be Princess Leia. I am completely digging Sweetly Six’s costume choice this year…and, quite frankly, her fixation on Princess Leia. Why, you ask? Well, I have to start with the fact that in 1977, I myself was captivated by the smart talking, rebel leading, blaster-firing Princess. It seemed (and still seems!) like there is nothing that Princess Leia cannot do. But there are more reasons: Princess Leia is an effective, highly respected key leader. She doesn’t wait around for a man to save her. In fact, when rescued by Luke in A …

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Children’s Series: Coping with Back to School Jitters

Happy Monday! Today, I am super honored and excited to introduce you to Dr. Deborah Roth Ledley, a psychologist at the Children’s Center for OCD and Anxiety and founder of TheCalmMom.com. We met at a dinner recently and I was fascinated by her and her work. She has generously agreed to share some of her pearls of wisdom on recognizing anxiety in children and for coping with it. Thank you, Dr. Ledley! —— Although we are nearing the end of October, school-related anxiety actually seems to peak just about now in the offices of anxiety specialists like myself.  The initial euphoria of new notebooks, cute new clothes, and fresh faces seems to dwindle…leaving kids with lots of worries. Here is a sampling of the kinds of worries that seem to hit kids at this time of year: Separation anxiety – Not wanting to leave mom and dad to go to school, activities, birthday …

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Children’s Series: Talking with Children About Miscarriage

Today at lunch a girlfriend told me about me a really yucky story, one that involves having to tell her daughter (who happens to be Sweetly Six’s bestie) about a friend’s miscarriage. She asked me how she should tell her daughter. Because anywhere from 10-25% of all clinically recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage, I thought I’d do a post on it with hopes that this information will not only help my girlfriend but will help other people as well. So, here goes. It is difficult for most adults to discuss death. Duh. To (potentially) complicate things, delivering news about death is influenced by our own history of death. However, you all know by now how I feel about talking with children. It MUST be done. Please-please-please do it! Avoiding communication with children sends the message that either they are too unimportant to share the information or that it is so …

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The Silver Lining Video Series: How to Talk With Children About Cancer

My beloved mother-in-law used to love the phrase, “It’s a Big Day.” She used the phrase quite liberally, which is one of the things that I adored about her. To think that we have lots of “Big Days” in our life is such a Silver Lining! Well, today is a “Big Day” for The Silver Pen because today I am launching the first in a series of videos.  Yep. That’s right. The Silver Pen is going 3-D. Well, not 3-D, exactly…clearly I’m new in this arena! The first video is “How to Talk With Children About Cancer.” It was super important for me to lead with this video because including children in a cancer diagnosis and treatment in the family is a top priority, yet so very (understandably!) challenging for families. My greatest hope for this video is that it will provide some tools to help anyone who is diagnosed …

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