Are you a parent or grandparent who is tired of the hatred and violence that we have thrown at us every day from every media? Do you yearn for a more peaceful society in which everyone matters? Is that a desire you have for your children and grandchildren? Are you a parent who wonders why your child lies, blames others for their actions, bullies and hurt others, struggles to find autonomy with a successful career, or fails to value life (their own as well as others)? The list goes on and on. Do you wonder why we have bullies and anger and hatred rather than love, acceptance, and caring?
During a career spanning over several decades of working with children and families, I dealt with one or more of these problems on a daily basis. Did I find all the answers? No, I didn’t find all the answers. However, I would like to take you on a journey in which I did find some of those answers and use this as an opportunity to pass the important things that I learned on to you. For example, I did learn that the longer they exist the more difficult they are to “fix”. I learned that if things are going to change, they will change with good parenting and with children learning moral lessons from a very early age.
The experiences that we will explore eventually led me to a retirement in which I have been inspired to write picture books which I write with the hope that they will reach children and teach them valuable lessons in fun and caring ways. They are short engaging stories which teach old fashioned Biblical principles of behavior which if learned and followed could affect real change in them as individuals and in society as a whole.
If you are a parent with a busy lifestyle and are searching for short books for bedtime, or any time, stories that your children will want read over and over to them while teaching them moral lessons, these books are made to accomplish just that. One reader recently told me that they replaced The Little Engine that Could as his son’s favorite bedtime story. One grandmother said it is always these books that her granddaughter chooses to read first in their time together.
In this blog we will examine the developmental issues addressed in these different books. I will share advice based on my experiences while simultaneously talking about each book and how it came to be written. Next time we will go back in history while I share some of the experiences leading up to the first book.
Bible Inspiration: Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Lesson in a nutshell: Children who learn and follow Biblical principles learn to work hard, develop their individual talents, and find a place in the world in which they give to others rather than take.
Lesson in a nutshell: Make time to read to your small children every day. Research has shown that reading to children from the time they are babies is in direct proportion to their intellectual development and subsequently their success in school.
Lesson in a nutshell: Remember that it is not only important that you take the time to read to them but also that what you read teaches them a lesson they need to learn. Remember that those little brains are literally soaking up what they hear whether it is good or bad! MAKE IT GOOD because change occurs one child at a time.
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