Whole Child Development
Once again, I loved having a chat with Heather Shumaker about her fantastic book, It’s OK Not to Share and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids (*affiliate). As we wrap up the year’s read along, Heather talks about how to get started with the Renegade Rules, how to stay sane when you’re parenting in public, and shares some exciting news about her next book. (I can’t wait for it!)
If you’re new to the read along, check out the past posts starting here or here.
One of the most amazing aspects of blogging has been the realization that there are REAL people behind those author bylines on articles, posts, and books. Getting to know those real people is one of my favorite parts of this blogging gig! Heather Shumaker has been no exception — an absolute delight! Her book, It’s OK Not to Share and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids (*affiliate link) is amazing, but getting to discuss each section with her has been no less so!
Before we close out this year, I wanted to have one last chat with Heather, to discuss her book as a whole, as well as her plans for a second book (oh yeah!). If you have a question for Heather, I’d love to hear it! Comment below, ASAP, and I’ll take that into consideration as I chat with her on Thursday, December 11th. I’ll be sure to post our video chat by Friday the 12th. Deal?
A book is my favorite thing to give as a gift, especially to a child! And one of my favorite ways to package that gift is with another connected item that will extend the experience and the meaning. I put a few of my favorite books together in this format last year (find that list here). Between the positive feedback on that first list, and my own delirious love of books, the list has really grown this year, spanning from board books to activity resource books. There’s really something for every age!
(This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Click on titles to find each book and/or item.)
Asia Citro of Fun at Home with Kids has compiled a fantastic new book, and it couldn’t have come at a better time!
I had a reader ask a question/make a comment recently, that I keep turning over in my mind. I thought I’d share my thoughts with you in the hopes that you’ll share yours as well.
I noticed my 2 1/2 year old walking around the back yard the other day with a small rectangular rock nestled in the palm of his hand. I watched as he excitedly moved it around as he energetically bounded around the lawn, obviously in his own world. I wondered where his imagination had taken him. Then I heard the giveaway: “Boop! Boop!” He was holding the rock out, extending his arm toward a ride along car in the yard. “My boop-boop!” He said as he looked up with a huge grin of satisfaction, having clearly just set the alarm on his toy car with his own personal key fob.
I grew up hearing the stories. How Grandma and Grandpa started out in a new state with a dog, a truck, a baby, and $10 in their pockets. The mischief and mayhem my dad and his brothers created, often at the expense of each other or their sisters, and much to the chagrin of their saintly mother. The life-threatening illness at my birth, and the miracle of my recovery. They were like colorful marbles in a kindergartner’s pocket. I loved them and treasured them, but hadn’t really given much thought to what research might say about their significance.
As I have examined both personally and professionally what makes for a strong family, I have been surprised several times to find research linking positive personal and family outcomes to families knowing the stories and histories of their families.
As an article in the New York Times stated in a review of some of the research, ” After a while, a surprising theme emerged. The single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative.”
Erica Layne of Let Why Lead expanded on this same topic recently, sharing the many benefits of family stories for kids.
The idea that something as simple as story-telling can build stronger kids seems hard to believe. As I said, it was something of a pleasant surprise when I stumbled on some of the research. But it shouldn’t have been surprising at all. My Master’s thesis was on the topic of ethnic identity. The review of the literature in that area is very clear: Knowing where you come from and what you’re about is correlated with almost every positive outcome you can measure. It makes sense that those benefits are not limited to knowing your ethnic story, but extend more personally, to knowing your family’s story and your own.
With this information on my mind, I was excited when Beryl Young offered to share a guest post with you about how to capture your family’s stories and preserve them in a variety of forms. It’s something feel I took for granted in my own childhood, and hope to become more intentional about with my own children.
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