I have a 13 months daughter whom I absolutely love and I know I would be heartbroken if she ever comes home upset by someone shaming her for anything about her looks. She, like all of us, is simply perfect in her own way. But that's hard for a child to grasp - heck, it's hard even for adults to grasp as Anand shares!
Thankfully, we've inculcated a good reading habit with our daughter and even more so, we live in a world where people like Anand exist, who would make time outside of their full-time jobs to write children's books that they believe will (and I can imagine, do) make our inner worlds more stable and calm. Yet another book on my list! I loved your preamble in this post and this interview - thanks Sarah!
Thanks for this lovely comment, Nick, and for reading! I was absolutely over the moon when I asked Shelly for an interview and she said yes.
It's very difficult as a parent when other people hurt your child. Last year one of my daughters had a "best friend" who wasn't kind to her at all, and we spent months upon months talking about what it means to be a good friend, how true friends treat each other, what type of people are worth spending our time on and sharing our heart space with, how to set boundaries. (I spent the year trying to control my anger and not tell this other child what I thought of her every time I saw her, which thankfully wasn't often.) When kids get into tough situations -- and they will -- you have a reaction as a parent *and* a reaction as a person -- we bring our whole selves, our pasts and all our triggers, into it all. It's HARD. And I am also grateful for it, because looking into the mirror of your children can make you a better, healthier person, if you do the work and let it.
I have a 13 months daughter whom I absolutely love and I know I would be heartbroken if she ever comes home upset by someone shaming her for anything about her looks. She, like all of us, is simply perfect in her own way. But that's hard for a child to grasp - heck, it's hard even for adults to grasp as Anand shares!
Thankfully, we've inculcated a good reading habit with our daughter and even more so, we live in a world where people like Anand exist, who would make time outside of their full-time jobs to write children's books that they believe will (and I can imagine, do) make our inner worlds more stable and calm. Yet another book on my list! I loved your preamble in this post and this interview - thanks Sarah!
Thanks for this lovely comment, Nick, and for reading! I was absolutely over the moon when I asked Shelly for an interview and she said yes.
It's very difficult as a parent when other people hurt your child. Last year one of my daughters had a "best friend" who wasn't kind to her at all, and we spent months upon months talking about what it means to be a good friend, how true friends treat each other, what type of people are worth spending our time on and sharing our heart space with, how to set boundaries. (I spent the year trying to control my anger and not tell this other child what I thought of her every time I saw her, which thankfully wasn't often.) When kids get into tough situations -- and they will -- you have a reaction as a parent *and* a reaction as a person -- we bring our whole selves, our pasts and all our triggers, into it all. It's HARD. And I am also grateful for it, because looking into the mirror of your children can make you a better, healthier person, if you do the work and let it.
Oh! How I needed the Mooch book as a teenager! Again, children's literature comes to save the day.