-
In The News
THE TRUTH (Im a girl, Im smart and I know everything) in the top 100!
-
Search
-
Recently Written
- Seven Gateways to Happiness For Girls-How Do We Help Our Girls Walk Through the Gateways to Happiness?
- Tips to Help You Communicate With Your Teen
- First Positive Psychology Fiction Book, The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) is a Hit!
- One of my dreams for The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything)
- She Didn’t Have a Name!
- The Enchanted Self, Wisdom Secrets and Nancy Drew.
- Author helps teens, moms connect
- Montauk Good News Broadcast, Montauk Sun
- Kids, Tweens and Teens with Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein interviewed Venessa Van Patten, author of Your Grounded!
- Staying True to the Promises We Make In Childhood
-
Categories
-
Archives
-
Blogroll
- Kids, Tweens and Teens - A Positive Psychologist Looks at All Three
- Positive Psychology for Women - Positive Psychology for Women
- The Enchanted Self - Positive Psychology for Women
- The Enchanted Self Blog - Positive Psychology for Women
- The Enchanted Shop
-
Admin
One of my dreams for The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything)
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
It is my dream to have girls and moms across the country reading The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) and then having discussions about the different topice brought up. As a positive psychologist, I believe it is a win-win for both moms and daughters to talk about growing up, staying true to oneself, gossip, families having issues, jealousies, crushes on boys, developing, anxieties about moving, etc. These subjects never go out of date and we can always learn more about ourselves, our kids, and the subjects themselves by having the courage to process them. What a pleasure to be able to experience the happiness that comes from helping the next generation hold on to their power, potential and wisdom!
Author helps teens, moms connect
BY LAURIE LAWLESS
Hour Staff Writer
As a young girl, does your life seem complicated? As a parent, does your daughter and her adolescent issues seem confusing and incomprehencible?
Well wonder no more, because Norwalk native, Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein has written a new book to help struggling pre-teens and their non-understanding parents. “The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart, and I know everything),” is a fiction diary written by Holstein through the eyes of an 8- to 10-year-old girl.
“I became aware that children and moms need a way to build self esteem. I wanted something that could catch the heart and spirit of girls and maybe their moms too,” explained Holstein.
Holstein had done extensive research before writing this book, which was released in February, and believes people might actually be surprised by the amount of depth in the story. The book touches on self esteem, crushes, school bullies, inside struggles and the development and growth of young teens.
“We need to find ways that people are affected by what they read. A fictional diary can be very moving. In order to make change in our lives we have to be moved, not just convinced,” explained Holstein.
Holstein said she hopes that just as many parents read the book as do young girls. She said she believes it is important for parents to remember how crucial the pre-teen years can be. At the end of the book, a list of questions is given. Holstein hopes that parents and their children can tackle these questions together.
“I hope it will boost a girl or teen. For the mothers, I hope it will help her see how her daughter of child is feeling inside,” she said.
Holstein is a licensed positive phycologist in New Jersey and Massachusetts. She has held her private practices for more than 25 years. Holstein also worked as a school psychologist, a teacher and a case study researcher.
She has written five other books: “The Truth, I’m Ten, I’m Smart and I Know Everything,” “Delight!” “The Enchanted Self,” “Recipes For Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is You!,” and “Feel Good Stories.”
She is the daughter of Dr. Harry A. Becker, a past superintendent of the schools in Norwalk. While he was in office, Becker made various positive changes to the Norwalk School System. According to Holstein, he also founded Norwalk Community College.
Those who have read and enjoyed Holsteins book, may not have to wait long for the next one to appear. This book is just the first in a series.
“I’m almost done with the next book. Now she’ll be 10-12. The next will be 12-14,” she said.
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein will have a book signing at 3 p.m. today at Borders in Stamford, at 3 p.m. today at Borders, 1041 High Ridge Road, Stamford. For more information, call 968-9700.
Read the article here.
Kids, Tweens and Teens with Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein interviewed Venessa Van Patten, author of Your Grounded!
In this week’s podcast I interview Venessa Van Patten, who is the author of Your Grounded! She is a remarkable young woman who has actually done research on the thoughts, actions and feelings of teen-agers. Listen to the inside scoop! We discuss her research, her growing up years, her book and of course The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything). This is a great show.
Right click here and choose “Save Target As..” to Download the Mp3
Two and One Half Men may be funny but what is the show saying about schools and tweens?
Tonight, 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
South 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
I 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.
Some pointers: 1. In your family life don’t make fun of each other or bully. Remember that kids model what they see!
2. If you child talkd 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!
http://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:
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)
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
Wonderful article the The Earth Times. You can find it at http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/tween-girls-bullish-on-fashion-fantasy-game-online-fashion-game,290696.shtml. 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?