Dr. Sandra Prince-Embury, Resili ency Expert, Guest on Dr. Holstein’s radio show, Kids Tweens and Tenns, A Positive Psychologist Looks at All Three, on www.internetvoicesradio.com

Today, May 12, 2008 Dr. Sandra Prince-Embury was Dr. Holstein’s guest on her radio show, Kids, Tweens and Teens, A Positive Psychologist Looks at all Three on www.internetvoicesradio.com.  This show is recorded and archived and available 24/7 for downloading and as a podcast.  Dr. Prince Embury discussed Dr. Holstein’s new book, The Truth,(I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything).  She mentioned how important the book is for tweens and teens, giving them a model for the skills of self awareness and expression which are so critical for tweens and teens.  The girl is able to verbalize her feelings in her own words and actually speaks so naturally, that the reader feels she is really talking to her.   Her honesty and her capacity to adjust to disappointments, even around the failings of her parents are also important issues for youngsters developmentally. 

Dr. Sandra Prince Embury is a nationally known expert in the field of Resiliency, having developed The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents.  Come and listen to the show!  If you have kids-it is a must!

Kids, Tweens and Teens, A Positive Psychologist Looks at All Three!-radio show

MEDIA ALERT

Who:        Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein will interview Andrea Fuller, CEO of Work It! Inc., and creator of Work It! Book Collection, is a veterinarian at Seaside Zoo in San Francisco. The mission of her books is to encourage girls to think BIG about the future and have fun! Her books are geared for girls 7 – 14 years old.

The first book in the Work It! Book Collection, fiction book series, introduces an internship program called the Work It Club for girls in San Francisco. The Work It Club places girls in jobs with professional women to learn about what they do. It features real details about the profession highlighted in each book.  The storyline includes, Bella Santi and Sierra Christmas getting an internship with Dr. Lopez at the Seaside Zoo.
What:       Under “Kids, Tweens and Teens, A Positive Psychologist Looks at all Three,” Dr. Barbara will speak to Andrea on girls growing up, keeping their aspirations and drive toward careers, happiness and more. Dr. Barbara will critical issues that can interfere with a girl holding on to her dreams, such as bullying, poor parenting, gossiping, and lack of mentors. Andrea will share how her books help to correct some of the above by providing mentors and encouragement.
When:          Live 4:30pm EDT Monday, at internetvoicesradio.com.

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein is the author of The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything). A National Best Seller for Teens, The Truth is a fictional girl’s diary that with humor and pathos takes all the above issues into account.

For more information please contact Dr. Holstein at 732-571-1200 or encself@aol.com

Two and One Half Men may be funny but what is the show saying about schools and tweens?

13bTonight, Monday evening, I happened to catch some of Two and One Half Men on CBS.  It is a modern day comedy-a far cry from I Love Lucy that I so loved to watch on Monday nights at 9:00 PM so many years ago.  That show had an innocense that Two and One Half Men lacks.  However, it is a different era.  And that’s what made tonight’s show so poignant, in terms of being a tween.  The youngster, who is the son of one of the characters and the nephew of the other is going to Junior High or Middle School-I didn’t catch which.  So the men are taking him shopping.  They make him buy old people’s looking sneakers so no one will try to beat him up and steal his sneakers.  They make him buy beige pants because no gang members wear beige.  By the time they put him on the school bus he looks scared to death.  As they walk away, one of the men remarks, “We’ve done all we could do, now it’s up to him.”

And I suppose that is true.  We have done or not done what we can and now our tweens are out in our society, sometimes scared to death, exposed to pressures and worries that we would never have dreamed of as children.  This is not good for them.  Kids are still developing emotionally and physically.  Having the pressures on them that someone might beat them up for their sneakers or simply beat them up because the other guy is in a gang is frightening.

Even though the ‘girl’ in my new book, The Truth, I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything, lives in a simpler time, she gives parents and tweens a great chance to talk about so many ’scary’ and complicated subjects.  She is also worried about transitioning, just like the boy in the show.  She also wants friends and to fit in. Sometimes it is easier to talk about important subjects when we simplify the setting.  That’s what I did in this book.  The Truth gives us direct access to look at all the issues surrounding growing up.  And we should!  Our tweens deserve it!

A Fourteen year old boy in Pasadena agrees with the ‘girl’ in The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) And the truth is it is not nice to swear

Gosh darn! Cussing banned in California town-taken from CNN news

18aSouth Pasadena declares first week of March as No Cussing Week

Mayor hopes proclamation will “elevate the level of discourse”

Anti-swearing drive started with teen who founded high school’s No Cussing Club

This news is so exciting.  As a positive psychologist, a school psychologist, a mom and a grandma, I’m thrilled to read about a 14 year old boy having the courage and conviction to come out loud and clear that cussing is not necessary, not nice and we can handle ourselves in more refined ways!  Congratulationgs to him.  I was tickled to see this special week happening in California.  In my new book, The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) the girl is very upset when a cousin comes to visit who swears all the time.  She knows it isn’t nice and it doesn’t feel good to listen to the language.  How is it that so many of us Americans have forgotten when children know to be true?  I hope we can all practice no cussing days, everyday!

Bullying increases risk of depression and more

bulliedI heard on ABC Now News today that bullying can increase the risk of depression and even suicide.  These are serious findings. For more information fo to www.abc.com and go to the on call section. Every day, in every way possible we need to help kids, teens and tweens to not be bullied.  We also need to help the bully so he or she doesn’t have the rage or hurt inside to be a bully.  We have a big task but we can do it.

Here are some pointers: 1.  In your family life don’t make fun of each other or bully.  Remember that kids model what they see!

17a2.  If you child talked about a bully in school or the neighborhood LISTEN and stay alert.  If you see any changes in your child, even small ones like leaving the dinner table early, talk to her and see what is going on.

3.  Remember you are the grown-up and take responsibility if necessary.  If you think you had better speak to a teacher, guidance counselor or principal about your child being bullied or your child showing some traits as a bully, do it!

Tweens will always give us wild rides but as parents we can handle it!

16ahttp://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/tweens/

Jan Singer wrote a wonderful blog entry today on her tween son who give her a ‘wild ride’ as most tweens do.  Here is my response:

I’ve been a psychologist in private practice for over 25 years and a school psychologist.  I don’t have a tween boy, but soon I’ll have a grandson getting near 8-12.  But may I comment on Jen’s little story about her tween son?  It is a wonderful example of how we will think we are ‘getting’ it about our tween and then suddenly there is a whole twist that we missed.  The good news is that Jen and her family handled her son in a positive way.  And that is the bottom line emotionally.  When I wrote, The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) the girl is 10 also.

And she also is having thoughts, feelings and insights totally unique to her that the family is missing.  I made sure that she did as a character because since this is a mother-kid book I wanted there to be a lot of room for discussion and mutual understanding. For example, Jen’s post raises questions such as: How do we treat our tweens even if we don’t understand them?  What do we react to?  What do we let go? When do we permit ourselves to have a secret chuckle over what our kid did or said?  When do we shed a secret tear and then try to get in there with a different approach?  Yes, it is an endless array of moments, insights, realizations and reactions when there is a tween in the house-be it a boy or girl.  Hurray for Jen and her son-they are just doing fine and he will probably grow up loving music and who knows, be a great composer!

Mean Girls, a Positive Psychologist speaks up and so does a girl from the book, The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know Everything)

The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything)2a

Things I promise to do when I grow up:

I’ll travel a lot, I won’t look away when my kids ask me tough questions

I’ll answer truthfully, I won’t swear

I won’t get into silly fights with my husband…

The ‘girl’s’ list from my new book, The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) could go on and on.  She knows so clearly what has come into her life that didn’t feel right-parents who didn’t have the time to really hear her.  Parents that fought too often.  People in her life that somehow, whether with our without meaning to, distorted the truth, and people who did unpleasant behaviors such as swearing.  All of these external actions led to internal reactions which were painful to her.

As a positive psychologist I hypothesize that MEAN GIRLS don’t just wake up mean.  I believe that they too, have been exposed to too much that began to hurt just too deeply-and then finally one day, they began to give back.  And the result is a MEAN GIRL.  Perhaps the girl was teased unmercifully, or she came from a household that had too much conflict, or she had no one that really understood her needs.  That doesn’t get a MEAN GIRL off the hook and I agree with the information shown on Prime Time 20-/20 show this week on February 26th, 2008 that parents must work with their daughters and help them fend off the MEAN GIRLS.  And who best to give strategies, than one’s parents!  But also we need to look at the societal factors in the world around us to see what we can all do to help both the MEAN GIRL and the girl being teased.  I’ll talk about these factors in other blog entries.  But one sure factor is to keep tweens busy and engaged and excited about what they are learning and doing.  For example, a girl caring for a horse every day after school will probably not have the time to think about becoming mean-unless someone is not nice to her horse.  And then you had better watch out!  But that makes sense and sometimes we are reactive because that is exactly the right way to be!

What do you think?

Tween Girls Bullish on Fashion Fantasy Game: Online Fashion Game Gains New Entrepreneurs

With Permission from anastasiya-landa.deviantart.comWonderful article the The Earth Times.  You can find it at .  My congratulations.  Tweens need activities that allow them positive creative outlets.  What little girl hasn’t wanted to be a ballerina, or a princess?  And what tween hasn’t wanted to be something like a fashion designer?  Well, now it seems girls can get a safe way of learning not only about designing clothes but running a business.  As a positive psychologist, I know this type of learning experience is exactly what girls need between the ages of 8-14.  Your daughter may end up becoming an engineer or a physician or a graphic artist, but the confidence she can learn and the fun she can have in doing an activity that stretches her imagination will never be lost.

In my new book, The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) the girl is so excited to meet any challenge that stretches her thinking and yet keeps her feeling girly, girl at the same time.  That is probably why she loves Nancy Drew mysteries.  She gets such a kick out of solving them, before Nancy Drew!  And that’s why lots of girls are sure to feel excited playing this new game.

Actually, this on-line fashion designing game appeals to the girl inside of me.  I wonder if older women can sign up?