I had the opportunity to review an ebook from one of my favorite authors, Carol Barnier. I own two of her books: How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and On To Learning and The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles. I love her blog and have also heard her speak in webinars. Yes I love Carol. I saw on her blog that she had a new e-book called Holiday Skills for Your Wired Child and I asked for a review copy. Yea!!! I am so pleased she sent me one because it is a wonderful book full of great ideas to implement in this upcoming season.
Those of you that know me know that we do RDI. We try and slow our life so that eventually, Andrew will be able to 'adjust' better in a dynamic environment. We still try and do this during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. We just have one child and so this is a bit easier. But small family or large, this season is going to be filled with more changes than a typical time of year. Her book gives a ton of ideas for both helping your sizzler (wired child) cope as well as ideas for friends and family when they are around your kiddo. Some of these include making allowances for their needs and letting YOURSELF and kid off the hook. (A couple of weeks nights of fishsticks won't hurt.) There are ideas for social stories and tips for taking the slightly easier road...giving yourself a break. I was telling a friend about this book this morning and she put the 'tips' in RDI terms for me... Carol gives you ideas on how to PREVIEW the activities for your kids. (And has lots of other ideas too.)
There are some that are so blessed during the holiday season because they are able to internally slow down and enjoy things. Even some with sizzlers are able to be surrounded by folks that truly do 'get' their kids and allow for their differences. Unfortunately I don't think that is the case for most. Even when folks try they often miss the mark. This would be a great thing for an aunt, grandparent or friend of a sizzler to buy for themselves or the family of the sizzler. What I love about it most as the whole book is full of humor in how to implement any or all of the ideas.
For an idea of what is actually in this book, the chapters include preparation, writing letters to others explaining your child, strategies before going to an event, coping during the changing dynamics of the season, role playing ideas, and my favorite, the ABCs of Happy Holidays. For $4.95 it is a real deal.
For more on what a sizzler is..and for all sorts of fun and interesting information you can go to Carols web page Sizzle Bop.
I received a complimentary copy of this e-book and was not obliged to give a positive review.
3 comments:
I love the sizzlebop emails and facebook. Is this more for younger sizzlers? My boys do tend to melt at this time of year. They get so excited, and try so hard to be good that they (yes, you guessed it) become more anxious, and lose all impulse control! Are the suggestions suitable for tweens, or will they say "Mom, quit treating me like a baby!!"??
hmmm....I would say that the it is 'ageless.' There are some things like 'role-playing' that might be more for the younger crowd but you could 'tween-ify' it by having them maybe write a story about what it will look like at a specific event. My son is a tween (10) and he reminds me of that all the time too. "I'm a TWEEN mom!" Even though some of this 'seems' like old hat to me, it is a fabulous reminder of ways to cope during this season. It is also a great idea for relatives :) if they need suggestions on how to best be around your sizzler during the holidays. My son too TRIES so hard but many of the suggestions relate to others - so they don't HAVE to try so hard. Or 'preview' or before type activities so again, it isn't so much pressure on them and then everyone can enjoy themselves.
Thanks for your reply, and for making sure I got it. My guys are ten, too. I think I'll make this an early Christmas gift to myself! You're so right about the relatives needing as much assistance as our kids!
Post a Comment