The Environmental Effect Of Parenting Part 2

Posted by April 26, 2012

A few years ago, researchers investigated the impact of children’s requests on their parent’s buying in the grocery store. When the researchers asked the children if they asked for various things when they went shopping with their parents, 90 percent of the children said “yes.” Of even more interest, half of them said they always got what they asked for! The researchers calculated that more than $1.5 billion was spent annually in response to children’s requests. Does advertising pay? Yes! Do you have to let advertising control what you purchase? No!

The child is father of the man. When we see a young boy acting like his father we say, “Like father, like son.” The poet suggested that what the child is, the man will become; therefore “the child is father of the man.” Today we recognize that dietary habits established in childhood are often carried into adult life. There is also increasing awareness of the relationship between dietary habits and chronic disease. If the right habits are developed early in life, we may be able to lessen the risk for chronic disease later on.

What can we do, then, to help assure that our children will have the most nourishing food possible when they are little, and healthful eating practices when they are adults in the next century?

The place to start is with breast-feeding. Human milk contains just the nutrients the baby needs, in the right amounts and in the most suitable form. Hundreds of papers have been published describing human milk and the beneficial properties it contains. All we have room to say here is that it is still the best food for baby.

By 4 to 6 months, babies have developed enough to be able to eat and digest semisolid food. They can sit up and turn their heads away to indicate they have had “enough.” We want little ones to respond appropriately to their hunger and to the feeling of satiety, and not be forced to eat more than they really want. Good eating habits begin very early!

By the way, babies don’t need the desserts offered by the commercial baby food companies. Nor do they need the added salt and spices adults use to flavor their food. They are quite happy with plain, simple food.

When should the baby be given cow’s milk? A few years ago authorities said babies could be given whole cow’s milk when they were 6 months old if they were also eating 1 1/2 jars of baby food. Recently, however, reports have appeared that found that babies fed cow’s milk didn’t have as good an iron status as babies who received it later. Not only is cow’s milk a very poor source of iron, but the proteins in the cow’s milk can cause bleeding in the immature intestinal tract. Thus, many authorities now recommend waiting until 12 months to give the baby cow’s milk.

We’ve heard a great deal in recent months about fat and cholesterol in the diet. What’s appropriate for little ones less than 2 years of age? Half the calories of breast milk come from fat. The amount of fat in cow’s milk is similar. Infant diets are generally high in total fat. What is appropriate?

The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently convened a meeting to discuss this topic. They concluded that the higher fat content of infant diets is appropriate at that time of life. Infants are growing very rapidly. They have a small stomach capacity but high nutrient needs. They also need lipids for the developing nervous system. The AHA and AAP agreed that there should be no change in the current diet for infants and children under 2 years of age. Skim or low-fat milk can wait until they’re 2. Before that, whole milk is appropriate.

Not long ago a physician reported seven children all under 2 with failure to thrive. The parents were well educated, but in each case they were very concerned about health issues and chronic disease. They wanted to prevent obesity and heart disease in their children. They were feeding them very low-fat diets. The children received low-fat or nonfat milk, lean meat, and complex carbohydrates. The calorie intake was less than recommended.

These little ones were not receiving enough to eat. They had poor nutrition status, with low iron stores and deficient arm muscle mass. They were all below the fifth percentile for weight. None was growing in length adequately; five of the seven were below the fifth percentile for length.

The diets given to these children were consistent with recommendations for adults. But they were not adequate for the needs of the rapidly growing child. Fortunately, when these children were given whole milk and a more liberal diet they began to grow normally. It is important to recognize that children are not simply miniature adults. Their nutritional needs are different from those of adults, and those needs must be met in order for them to grow appropriately.

As children get older they should be encouraged to eat foods that are lower in fat content. The results of a major research study in Bogalusa, Louisiana, suggest that heart disease risk factors can be seen even in childhood. The researchers agree with the American Heart Association that all Americans more than 2 years of age should follow a “prudent diet.”

The healthiest diet is one that contains variety and a balance of foods. Sometimes, however, young children will dislike a certain food and insist on another. It’s alot like a retailer opting for a high end point of sale system when he really only needs a cash register. These food jags usually pass in a short time, but the more you focus on them, the longer they’re likely to last! We need to remember there is no requirement for a certain food but rather requirements for specific nutrients, and there are many different sources for the nutrients. Let’s offer as many of them to our children as possible.

How are you caring for the “arrows in your quiver”? Parents have what is, in today’s vernacular, an “awesome” responsibility. They begin as gatekeepers for their little ones. In time the child becomes the man, taking with him many of the habits formed in childhood. Parents also act as role models. Do you want your children to follow your habits? If they do, will those habits help them to have health in the twenty-first century?

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The Environmental Effect Of Parenting Part 1

Posted by April 2, 2012

From ancient times, societies have recognized the special needs of pregnant women and made provision for their care. On the other hand, regard for children was too often affected by their sex and whether they were healthy and able to perform the work expected of them. They often had to do the work that should have been done by animals, or in today’s society, machines. Large numbers of children provided the only “social security” in many societies. Parents took quite literally King David’s statement that children are “like arrows in the hand of a warrior. … Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them”

Such conditions still prevail in some parts of the world. But in America we have the opportunity to relate to our children differently. That means more than just treating them correctly after they are born. It also means recognizing the unique nature of pregnancy and the critical place it holds in the chain of life. There is no other time when one individual is so dependent upon another. The 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health concluded that the best way to promote infant health is to provide optimal nutrition for women throughout life.

The unborn baby is influenced by what happens and what has happened in the mother’s life. The mother passes on to her child her own nutritional heritage, her practices, and her beliefs, and her child in turn passes them on to the next generation. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Life for the new chicken starts with the egg, but the egg is influenced by the chicken that laid it. So it is with humans, an unending cycle of influence from one generation to the next and the next.

A major goal of this decade and on into the twenty-first century is to decrease the infant death rate. Much has been accomplished through advances in medical technology in keeping little ones alive after they are born. But it is very costly, and such little ones often have more problems later on. It is these small babies who are at greatest risk of dying in the first year. Now we need to focus on decreasing the number of infants who are born too small. One way to decrease the likelihood of a baby being born too small is to make sure the mother has enough of the right foods to eat and that she gains enough weight during pregnancy.

Train up a child. The ancient admonition to “train up a child” sometimes puzzles us. How do we do it in today’s world with so many choices, so many influences, so many messages vying for attention? How do we train children in today’s world so they can experience health in tomorrow’s world? Although the focus of this article is on nutrition, we recognize that it is but one of the many concerns of importance in raising children.

Through the years mothers have been considered the gatekeepers of the home. They were the ones who controlled what came into the pantry and what appeared in the refrigerator and on the table and in the lunchbox. But more and more, the children are making those choices.

Children have greater access to money today than they did in the past. They have more opportunity to spend that money in various places away from home. Too often they are responsible for making their own breakfasts and lunches. The foods they choose are influenced by what they see and hear in the world about them.

The average preschool-age child watches more than 25 hours of television every week. He sees 50 to 55 television commercials for food items every day. Most of those ads are for sugary foods of limited nutritional value. In addition, television often portrays food as something to eat because it’s sweet, or because the package contains a toy, or because “everybody else” is eating it, rather than because it’s good for you. A noted nutrition authority recently stated that “television advertising at this time is a distinct detriment to promoting healthful food habits in both children and adults.”

 

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Paper People Take Over!

Posted by February 12, 2012

They gather in a circle on the playground, go fishing with Grandma, bicker with cousins, negotiate with siblings, and they live in a shoe box. “They” are the paper people that represent significant individuals in my daughter’s life.

My four-year-old daughter developed an early passion for paper dolls-the store-bought variety with the slick punch-out clothes. One gray day when she was down with a cold and the old paper pals were in need of some new companions, she said, “I know what, Mom. Let’s make some more.” Now, I knew that my artistic skills were limited and that my homemade beings could never rival the properly printed forms featured in toy stores; but when boredom joins hands with illness, parental resources must be stretched. Besides, as most veteran parents know, effort is often more critical than talent. My daughter’s first request was for a paper reproduction of our immediate family. The sketched bodies of Mom, Dad, sister, and dog fit nicely on a sheet of plain white typing paper. My daughter contributed by filling in the details. She decided which outfits and colors each one would wear, explaining her choices with elaborate commentary. She revealed why she liked to see me wearing a skirt and blouse, why she preferred Daddy in jeans, and why her older sister liked to wear braids. Then she duplicated the tiny details that characterize each member of the family-Daddy’s blond hair, my green eyes, and the front teeth missing from her sister’s smile.

When the characters were completed to my daughter’s satisfaction, we cut them out together. As soon as the figures were cut free, they sprang to life as members of a family. With gestures and voices (supplied by my daughter), they talked about what happened at school, where they would go for a picnic, and what they wanted for dinner. Then, they talked about the POS software that one of the characters installed at her store. The paper parents stepped in to help settle serious disputes among the children, and they all kissed each other good night. The amazing thing about this paper family was not only that their physical characteristics reflected my daughter’s view of reality, but that their emotional dynamics did as well. Listening to their conversations, I began to understand my child’s perception of the sensitive relationships between family members.

One day, she asked me to sketch Grandma, Grandpa, and her favorite cousins. Another day, we designed several pages of dolls representing her classmates. Before outlining each figure, I asked my daughter to describe the child so I could include one essential feature in the drawing. Her descriptions went well beyond the physical, which added to the fun and sparked new insights into my child’s relationships with other children. After she colored and cut out each doll, I watched as these peer interactions unfolded through dialogue and play.

This year for Valentine’s Day, instead of the usual red paper hearts or commercial cards, my daughter decided to create a personalized figure for each of her beloveds. I provided a quick set of sketches, drew a red heart on each chest, and wrote the inscriptions on the back. My child spent a pleasant afternoon bringing her valentines to life with crayons, markers, and scissors before bringing them to school the next day.

The paper community has since expanded to include teachers and playmates. These figures luxuriate in a world filled with tiny paper accessories-books, suitcases, toys, pets, and small food items all clipped from old coupons and magazines.

The paper people project, invented six months ago in a moment of boredom, continues to furnish props for hours of playful pleasure. My daughter’s artistic skills, eye-hand coordination, and flair for the dramatic have flourished. But even more rewarding is the knowledge I have gleaned from paper people about my child’s perceptions of real people.

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“Weapons!”, He Said.

Posted by September 26, 2011

Reading the Thanksgiving issue of a children’s magazine with my four-year-old son, I asked him what he is grateful for. “Weapons,” he replied.

Haunting image, or playtime fun?

I hate violence, am terrified of guns, and see war as a childish, ineffectual, and largely male response to conflict. I’m an unconditional pacifist.

My son, however, is not. At 9 months he crashed his trucks, and at 15 months he added the staccato effects of a battlefield. At two years, he badoom!ed with guns fashioned from Legos, Tinkertoys, and blocks. My stomach sank with each badoom, and I pontificated endlessly on the dangers of guns until, at two and a half, he said, “But Mama, it’s only make-believe.” This I acknowledged but did not understand until he said, “Look, my penis is just like a gun.” Or,” I replied, “a gun is just like your penis.”

My son has never hit another child, not even in retribution. But his play is full of violent confrontations and sadistic devices. Tucking him in the other night, his father said, “I’m really glad I have a son like you,” to which he replied, “I’m really glad I have weapons.”

On a blustery day last winter, I took him and two friends, ages 7 and 12, to a playfair billed as an alternative to war toys. We spent a pleasant afternoon playing with small animals and making Native American shoes from paper. As we were leaving, the camouflage-clad seven year old-whose lifelong fascination with weapons and violent fantasy had fueled my dread of having a boy-child when I was pregnant-stopped in front of a No More War Toys poster depicting two hands breaking a rifle.

“What does this mean?” he asked.

“Some people think that if children play with war toys, they’ll grow up to make wars,” I replied nervously, only too aware of the ideologically infused atmosphere.

“That’s stupid! It’s only play,” he answered. “Don’t they know it’s not real?”

Last summer, while a three-year-old girl and her father were visiting, my son showed them the wooden rifle that he had designed and his father had made. The visiting father, a sweet and progressive man, became clearly uncomfortable and began a sermon on the evils of guns, to which my son replied, predictably, “It’s only make-believe. Badoom!” Shrugging helplessly, the father finally said, “Maybe I should keep my mouth shut.” I put away the rifle and, embarrassed by my discomfort, launched into a lengthy explanation of my feelings about this complex issue.

It was not my usual style, but it did lead to an interesting turn of events. Whereas at first, this father had claimed his daughter had no interest in violent play, after my spiel he acknowledged his tendency toward gender stereotyping. Then he went on to describe the following incident: Picking up his daughter from school one afternoon, he found her crying in a corner, holding her hands behind her back. It turned out that she had been playing with two boys who had pretended to tie her up. She was upset because they did not pretend to untie her, said her father, astounded at her ready acceptance of the victim’s role. By the time he finished recounting the story, the little girl, who had been playing all the while with my son, was chasing and badooming with glee.

I do not advocate inundating our children with GI Joes and plastic Uzis. They are repulsive, although no more so than most of the perverse consumer items lining the aisles of toy supermarkets. But I resent the censure of progressive adults when my son plays out violent fantasies. I resent their disapproval in the name of nonviolence and their attempts to instill guilt for his feelings and for his play. And I resent the implication that I am somehow an inadequate parent because he “needs this outlet.” What has become very clear to me is that children’s play must not be censored, that violent play may serve the vital function of empowering a small, vulnerable child in a huge and often dangerous world.

In the backseat of the car last week, my son had this conversation with his playfair friend, who is now eight:

“Maybe I’ll get to fight in a war with rifles like yours,” said my excited four year old.

“But real wars are terrible!” replied his friend. “You could get killed. If one side really threw out their guns, and then the other side did, then there wouldn’t be any wars.”

The seven-year-old commando has become an eight-year-old pacifist, although his play agenda remains unchanged. He has no trouble distinguishing between make-believe and real life. Why do we? It is as if no one has ever heard of play or art, or of the unconscious. Or that the repressed returns.

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Recipes For Keeping Your Kids Healthy

Posted by September 4, 2011

Children of today may live to be 100 years of age or more. In order for them to enjoy those added years, attention must be given to establishing healthy lifestyles while they are very young. A child’s diet is central, if not key, to abundant health.

The tastes that we develop in childhood tend to stay with us throughout life. Give the children in your life a distinct advantage by providing them with food that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sugar. Bless their little hearts with better food choices; they will become accustomed to these good foods, and incorporate them into their lifestyle.

Too often the entree is a source of considerable saturated fat, the type of fat that leads to cholesterol deposits in the body’s blood vessels. The following recipes are low in saturated fat.

Lentils With Sweet Basil

2 quarts water 1 cup lentils Salt to taste 1/4 cup rice 2 T. dry onion 1 large can tomatoes 1 small can tomato sauce 1 T. sweet basil

Put the water, lentils, salt, rice, and dry onion in crockpot or large kettle and cook until soft. Add the remaining ingredients anytime during cooking, or at the end. Serves 8 to 10.

 

Delicious!

Burrito Casserole

8 medium-size flour tortillas 2 cups cooked pinto beans 1/4 cup chopped onions 1/4 cup chopped olives 1 29-ounce can prepared enchilada sauce 1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheese Toppings

Mix together beans, onions, and olives. Place about 1/4 cup of mixture into each tortilla and roll as for burrito. Place burritos into a shallow casserole and pour enchilada sauce over it. Top with cheese, and bake in a 375[degrees] F oven until bubbly. Serve with toppings of shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions, avocado, etc.

Tofu Balls

1 pound package tofu, well drained 1 tsp. margarine 2 T. grated onion 1/4 cup carrots, finely shredded 3 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup dry seasoned bread crumbs 1/2 tsp. salt 1 T. brewers yeast or Torumel 1 T. parsley, chopped fine

Cut drained tofu into large cubes and put into baking pan. Bake at 350[degrees] F for 30 minutes. Drain well and mash fine. Braise margarine, onion, and carrots for about 2 minutes. Mix tofu, carrot mixture, and remaining ingredients and allow to stand in refrigerator at least 2 hours for flavor to blend in. Deep-fry walnut-size balls of mixture for about 4 minutes. Using a monounsaturated fat such as canola oil or olive oil. (Recent studies suggest these oils are even better for the blood vessels than is polyunsaturated oil.) Serve with tartar sauce. Serves 6.

 

Homemade Tartar Sauce

1 T. minced onion 1 T. minced green pepper 1 T. minced pimiento 2 T. minced dill pickle 1 cup salad dressing 1 T. lemon juice Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together. If too thick, use milk to thin. Yields: 1 1/2 cups.

Children who learn to appreciate the light, fresh taste of fruit for dessert are at a distinct advantage. Pies, cakes, and cookies quickly add calories that will be hard to expend in energy in later years. A serving of the following dessert will deliver 100 fewer calories than a piece of apple pie.

Fresh Fruit Medley Pie

GLAZE:

1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate 1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate 1/4 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate 1 cup water 1 tsp. lemon rind 3 T. cornstarch

FILLING: 6 cups assorted fresh fruit, cut up

Mix and boil all glaze ingredients for 1 minute, stirring until mixture clears. Cool and fold in 6 cups assorted fresh fruit. Pour into 10-inch prebaked cookie crust. Serves: 10.

Cookie Pie Crust

1/4 cup margarine 2 T. brown sugar 1 egg yolk or 2 T. Egg Beaters 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour 1/4 cup instant oats 2 T. wheat germ 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Mix well and press into 10-inch pie pan. Bake at 400[degrees] F for 8 minutes. Yields: one 10-inch pie shell.

“Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing.”

 

(*1) Help the children in your life to learn to enjoy simple foods. They will be more likely to enjoy the extended life span that science is predicting.

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Becoming Successful As A Children’s Book Author Part 2

Posted by March 30, 2010

Manuscript Submission

No matter how short, your manuscript should be typed, double-spaced, on nonerasable, heavyweight bond paper. Artists who hope to illustrate their own books should also submit photocopies of the dummies that include rough sketches and copies of one or two finished pieces of art. (If you’re not the illustrator, you don’t need to send a dummy or indicate line breaks.) Publishers of picture books usually require a completed manuscript for fiction and a query or an outline with sample chapters for nonfiction.

Many publishers ask that you submit your manuscript exclusively to them, although multiple submissions are becoming more common because editors are taking longer to respond. Study publishers’ requirements before submitting work, and enclose return postage with anything you send.

Most agents don’t take on newcomers, and most don’t represent children’s book authors anyway. So whatever energy you expend on marketing your manuscript is better directed at publishers, many of whom still read all unsolicited children’s book manuscripts.

Don’t be discouraged by rejection letters or read ulterior motives into them. If an editor suggests you submit your manuscript elsewhere, do it. If he or she suggests changes, make them only if you want to. Respond to any editorial comments with a thank-you note and send the manuscript to another publisher. if you don’t receive a response within the stated time-which can be as long as three months-write a polite inquiry. If you still haven’t heard anything a few weeks later, write to withdraw the manuscript.

 If you have made all the right moves and your manuscript is accepted, you’ll achieve some degree of fame but not necessarily fortune. Children’s books aren’t expected to earn back their advances for at least six months.

But children’s books stay in print longer than adult books; ten years is not unusual, and some of Kroll’s picture books have been in print for 15 years. Picture books that sell more than 30,000 copies or earn more than $45,000 in royalties over a five- to seven-year period have had a successful, if not spectacular, run.

Success Stories

Eve Bunting’s first picture book, The Two Giants, was accepted by the first book publisher she sent it to. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, by Dr. Seuss, was rejected 28 times. Whatever your record, talent will win out in the end if you stick with it and do your homework.

For Kroll, persistence and a change in strategy made the difference. After writing in Maine and submitting his manuscripts through an agent, he moved to New York and started looking for an editor himself. Three weeks later he connected with Margery Cuyler, of Holiday House, who he says “looked at my work and saw something in it that other editors hadn’t Fifteen years later Kroll, age 49, has just published Branigan’s Cat and the Halloween Ghost-his 50th children’s book.

Books For Older Kids

Easy readers (about 1,500 words in 64 pages) are second only to picture books in demand because they target a growing demographic market-to 6-9-year-olds, who want to read “real” books instead of picture books. Easy readers are usually divided into chapters, with an illustration and a few lines of large, well-spaced type on each page. Some publishers limit the vocabulary, the number of lines per page and even the number of characters per fine, so request guidelines before submitting.

* Middle readers continue to be popular. Eight- to 12-year-olds love to explore new interests and collect everything from facts to books, especially series books. Most middle readers are about 25,000 words long and have protagonists who are 12 or 13 years old.

* Young adult books-which average 40,000 words for kids 12 or 14 and up-are the hardest to market, in part because there are fewer teenagers nowadays, and the good readers among them often choose adult fiction. The so-called problem novels, which deal with controversial issues and sold well in the 70s, have generally yielded to romance and other themes.

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Becoming Successful As A Children’s Book Author Part 1

Posted by March 23, 2010

Steven Kroll had been writing adult fiction for six years when he decided to try his hand at writing a children’s book. A former editor, he had friends in the field of children’s literature who were eager to give him advice and an agent who submitted his work to publishers.

Are you the next JK?

For all that, it took Kroll four years of full-time writing to publish Is Milton Missing his first picture book. And he feels lucky the process didn’t take longer.

Is there a parent alive who has read Where’s Spot? or Goodnight Moon for the umpteenth time without thinking that writing a picture book must be a cinch? If the notion to try it has crossed your mind, think again.

Regina Griffin, a senior editor at Scholastic Inc., says her publishing house receives more than 5,000 unsolicited children’s book manuscripts a year, out of which perhaps 15 are published. And that’s not unusual.

Yet these days, with the offspring of baby-boomers filling preschools and elementary schools, children’s books, too, are booming. They accounted for about $960 million in sales last year, up from $872 million in 1989, and picture books are the fastest-growing segment of the market. Of the 4,000 or so submissions received each year at Clarion Books, which specializes in publishing children’s books, at least 2,500 are texts for picture books, according to James Giblin, a former publisher and editor-in-chief at Clarion.

To write a picture book that merits a second editorial look, you need to know the business of writing for children. Start with the knowledge that it is a business, not a shortcut to publishing success nor, for that matter, a road to riches. Author advances vary and can range from $1,500 to $5,000 for hardcover rights with major publishing houses. Royalties, most often split 5050 between the author and the illustrator, begin at 10% of the fist price.

So to make a living, you need to be persistent and prolific. Kron typically receives $4,000 to $7,000 for a picture book (the higher figure usually includes hardcover and paperback rights) and publishes about four books a year.

Getting Started

Before you set your fingers on a keyboard, find out what kinds of books are around and who is publishing them. Visit the library, advises Matilda Welter, senior editor of children’s books at Houghton Mifflin. There you’ll find the tried-and-true titles, along with hundreds of others that aren’t stocked by bookstores. Also check out bookstores specializing in works for children.

While you’re at the library, look in the reference section for annual directories such as Writer’s Market, Literary Market Place and The Writer’s Handbook. They list names and addresses of editors and publishers and indicate which ones accept children’s books. Wtiter’s Market tells you what editors are looking for. You’ll learn, for example, that Houghton Mifflin publishes an average of 45 to 50 children’s titles a year and pays the standard royalty, and that 10% of books published by Harper Junior Books Group, West Coast, are written by first-time authors.

Picture books have a particular format, and disregarding that format hurts your chances for acceptance. For instance, writers often assume that board books-brightly colored cardboard books for infants and toddlers-are an easy area to break into because they’re so short. In fact, many board books are created by artists or otherwise arranged by the publisher, making that category among the most difficult for novices to crack.

Pure picture books, designed for children ages 2 to 5, rely on pictures as much as text, which usually runs about 1,000 words, or four typewritten pages. That’s 32 book pages, minus four for the title, copyright and so on. Picture storybooks, for somewhat older children, are 48 pages, with perhaps 2,000 words, supplemented by illustrations.

Editors agree that the very brevity of picture books makes them challenging to write. “A picture book demands the same sort of knowledge and skill that writing a poem does-the same sort of economy, the same way with words,” says Giblin. Sheep in a jeep, by author Nancy Shaw, has only 83 words, notes Welter, so “every word has to be right.”

Choose Your Tale Wisely

Besides choosing the right words, you need an idea that offers something unusual to both publishers and children. The hardest thing about writing a picture book is “getting the concept and having it be fresh,” says Eve Bunting, author of more than 100 books for children. One of her recent picture books, The Wall, tells of a child who visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to see his grandfather’s name.

Once you have an idea, you’ll need a dynamic hero, details to ground the plot, suspense, and convincing, consistent motivation. Choose vocabulary with your audience in mind, clarifying any difficult words in context. Verse is a mistake unless you have mastered the form. Humor, on the other hand, improves even preschool books. Make your conclusion satisfying: Don’t leave children hanging or far afield of where they began. And try to end on a note that’s upbeat, not preachy or sugary.

Paint Your Picture

The key to writing picture books is using words that evoke pictures without duplicating their message. “I teach my students to think visually,” says Uri Shulevitz, author of Writing With Pictures and winner of a Caldecott award for illustration, who teaches a workshop on writing picture books. To develop the visual approach, Shulevitz recommends first sketching the story in a picture sequence.

“Making a dummy” is another way to pace your picture book and to develop what Kroll calls “a good, taut story told in motion.” Fold a few pieces of paper into 32 pages and attach your typewritten text to the 28 pages allotted to it, breaking the text at appropriate pauses and eliminating any words that could be replaced with pictures. (Don’t assume, however, that an illustrator will flesh out a vague story or fix inconsistencies.) Then read the words aloud. If the language or the suspense falters, you’ll know it.

Unless you are a professional illustrator or are working with someone who is, leave the choice of pictures to the publisher. “Don’t feel you have to call up a local art teacher whom you know slightly to get a watercolor of Benjamin Bunny. That’s the sign of an amateur,” says Giblin. Publishers are willing and often prefer to select the illustrator themselves.

Ultimately, “people have to be ruthless with themselves about their talent,” says Griffin, of Scholastic. Even Maurice Sendak, author of the classic Where the Wild Things Are, faced facts: What started out as a book about wild horses turned into one about “things” when Sendak realized he couldn’t draw horses.

 

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Values And Kids Part 2

Posted by October 22, 2009

There are at least six powerful ways adults can communicate life-affirming values to young people today.

1. Congenial relationships. When a friendly relationship exists between an adult and a young person, the young person tends to adopt the values of the adult. Values are communicated even when not verbalized.

In my final doctoral orals I was asked this important question: “Strommen, you are a pastor. Suppose one of your parishioners needs psychiatric care and the only psychiatrist in your small town is an atheist. What will you do?”

In answering the question, I told the results of Rosenburg’s study. This researcher found that when a therapist establishes a good relationship with a client and treatment progresses well, the client’s values and beliefs shift toward those of the therapist–even though they were never discussed or even voiced by the therapist.

I later found this same phenomenon in a major study at Search Institute. We conducted an experimental study for the National Institute of Mental Health. We were trying to determine which of three training methods was most effective in helping high school young reach out to lonely and alienated peers.

The study included three expert teachers. One was a committed Christian, another was an agnostic, and a third was a nominal church member. The teachers trained young adults who in turn trained high school youth.

We were shocked by the results. The high school youth trained under young adults who were in turn under the tutelage of the committed Christian showed a significant increaes in religious interest and participation. Those under the youth trained by the nominal church member showed no change. But those under the tutelage of those trained by the agnostic showed a decline in religious interest and participation that could not be credited to chance. The values of these youth had shifted toward those of their leader, even though values and religious beliefs were never discussed.

2. Modeling life-affirming values. In a society with fewer life-affirming models and more models of a behavior that is destructive of self and others, this method of communicating values has taken on critica importance. Serving as a model may be the greatest contribution that a parent, teacher, or leader can make to a young person.

3. Gentle reasoning or induction. Young people are more likely to internalize values when an adult discusses and explains the reasonableness of a moral teaching. It is important to appeal to the child’s internal resources for controlling and monitoring his own behavior.

Search Institute did a massive study of young adolescents and their parents. In analyzing the data, we identified parents who used this reasoning approach with their children. What did we find? A significantly larger number of their adolescents had internalized the moral values cherished by their parents. We found that this approach is far superior to ordering or dogmatically telling young people that they are to do.

4. Personal witness. A time-honored and effective method of communicating spiritual values is the verbal sharing of beliefs and values.

5. The written word. History is full of examples of people whose value orientation has been changed by what they read.

6. A religious orientation that emphasizes grace rather than law. The overwhelming evidence of research is that the attempt to control youth by rules and regulations inclines some youth to reject the values being forced upon them. At least four major studies show that if a parent, teacher, pastor, or adult uses excessive control, or punitive measures, or is overstrict, the likelihood is greater that their youth will:

* reject traditional moral standards

* become involved in rebellious behavior

* reject the faith of the church

* become more self-oriented

By way contrast, adults who emphasize commitment to Christ, His love, His promises, and His forgiveness will find a larger number of their youth:

* accepting the faith

* showing higher self-esteem

* showing a more caring spirit

* becoming involved in service

* excelling academically

* being hopeful about the future

Those people who use love, acceptance, and forgiveness, are people who trust the power of the Holy Spirit to create a moral immune system in young people. This enables them to say no to life-denying activities and yes to activities that are life-affirming.

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Values And Kids Part 1

Posted by October 12, 2009

A word from Dan Matthews, host of Christian Lifestyle Magazine: values. They are as invisible as the air, and just as vital a part of our daily lives. Values shape not only our attitudes, but how we actually behave. Some values may vary from person to person with little consequence to society. Others–such as unselfishness and self-control–matter very much to all of us.

As parents, we care deeply that our children adopt as their own the moral and spiritual values we cherish. We want them to be people of faith and compasion.

But how are faith and values passed on in a fragmented, self-centered world? I posed these questions to Dr. Moerton Strommen, founder of Search Institute and renowned author of Five Cries of Youth, during an upcoming Christian Lifestyle Magazine telecast. This article includes some of Dr. Stommen’s views from that show, which will air early in 1991.

Where were you in 1965?

The United States sent its first official combat troops to Vietnam–3,500 marines who went ashore at Danang.

Richard Nixon was planning another political comeback.

The Sound of Music won an Oscar for best movie of the year.

The Beatles released their Rubber Soul album contaiing such hits as “Michele” and “In My Life.”

Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco gained notoriety as a hippie hangout.

LSD was still legal in California.

Skirts were short and hair was long. Parents of teens were worried.

What made 1965 important, though, was not so much that rock music flourished or people experimented with drugs. What was far more earthshaking and long-lasting was the shift in values that continues to this day–a shift toward self-centered, self-gratifying behavior that permeates all of modern life.

Before, divorce was frowned upon as harmful to children. Afterward it was increasingly viewed as a necessary step in “finding oneself.”

Before, having money was something that gave a person a special obligation to help others. Later it became a means of acquiring power, things, and even people.

Before, service-oriented careers were popular among college students. Now we face acute shortages in many service professions.

Our children today stand in the cross-current of two sets of conflicting values. One is the older set of moral and spiritual values we cherish and want to pass on as a legacy to the future:

* Caring for one’s family

* Doing good to others

* Protecting the powerless

* Showing generosity and mercy

*Keeping promises

* Postponing gratification

The other is the self-serving values of today’s society:

* Looking out for yourself

* Letting instincts be your guide

* Not making commitments

* Seeking material success

* Getting immediate gratification

* Defining morality as you choose

Young people cannot avoid choosing a set of values. What they choose will define their lives.

A study by Search Institute on members of the Ninety-sixth Congress of the United States revealed something very interesting about values. Close to 75 percent of a congressman’s voting records on certain issues could be predicted on just two variables–his political affiliation and his religious values.

Market researchers have also discovered the power of values. Since 1970 the research firm of Yankelovitch, Skelley, and White has tracked the rise and fall of 55 value trends in the United States because they assumed that changes in the buying patterns of the American public could be predicted by noting the changes in what people value. Both their long-continued research and briefer studies by Search Institute give persuasive evidence that this assumption is true.

We parents are not powerless in the struggle for the values of our children. The type of family in which young people are raised is still the greatest indicator of the values they will hold. Our greatest enemy is not society’s values; it is our own apathy and carelessness about transmitting what we hold dear.

 

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