Parents and teachers usually find that children thrive with recognition. We’re so conditioned to warn them away from danger and improper behavior that often we forget to praise and give them encouragement.
When I finished conducting the writing workshop with the 15 youngsters I mentioned in my last post, I gave them certificates of achievement.  It’s usually not possible to do this when I visit schools as an author and to teach workshops simply because of the number of students involved.  (I do try to give out bookmarks instead.)
However, because there were only 15 young writers, I decided handing out certificates at …read more

Teach your children that they are special and they have a multitude of talents. It might take a few times for it to sink in, but believe me it does. My son for example had learning disabilities all during his school years, and hated every minutel. But when he realized that he simply had to use a different method for learning, his attitude completely changed.
As a matter of fact, he is a hairstylist and participated at a major hair show a few weeks ago and he left a message on our answering machine. “I kicked butt!”… well those weren’t …read more