I have some incredible books I want you to share with your children, great for ages 4 all the way to 14.
These are 3 books in my daughter's collection that I have fallen in love with, not just for the stories & beautiful illustrations; which both are incredible. But the deep life lessons they so easily communicate.
First - The Boy, The Mole, The Fox & the Horse: In the story the boy gathers each of these characters along the way, with very existential questions & responses between all of them. The topics are some of the deepest human feelings from our core, that we so easily screw up as we walk through life. When really the answers are so simple.
With an illustration of the group looking at a pair of floating swans:
"How do they look so together & perfect?" asked the boy.
"There's a lot of frantic paddling going on beneath," said the horse.
The book is both calming to read, as well as offers many opportunities to discuss with your child bigger concepts about being loved, sadness, hope, being authentic, perception & resilience. The author has provided such a great mix of characters with the curiosity of the boy pulling out the ravenous nature of the mole, the misconception of the fox's wily or dangerous nature & the armored, stoic nature of the horse.
The author of the books The Daily Stoic & The Obstacle is the Way should be known to most of us - but he also has published 2 children's books.
The Boy Who Would Be King - be careful - there are a number of books with this title. The link is direct to his website page for its purchase (amazon has the hard cover for something crazy like $165 - but it's $24.99 on the author's site.)
This is the story of Marcus Aurelius who became the Emperor of Rome & one of the most successful & notorious leaders of all time. It follows him from boyhood where he pouts & rejects his training & responsibility before learning to change his perspective on taking a leadership role as a gift & duty to his people. Again, the story is written extremely well for a young audience & the lessons are very clear without being bland.
The Girl Who Would Be Free - the story of Epictetus.
Now I actually had to look this up...and when I did - I was really glad I did this. The author purposely wrote this story, changing Epictetus, who is known to be male & chose to write the book as though he was female.
The story covers Epictetus who began their life as a slave & had a deep victimhood mentality. Through lessons & perspective changes, Epictetus learns where freedom truly comes from; then chooses to make it their life purpose to carry on their teacher's lessons by opening a school focused on these philosophies.
Since I have started my recovery journey when my daughter was 3 months old (9 years ago) I have absorbed an obnoxious amount of child development research, literature & publications on how to help children 'Thrive.'
The facts are that it's never ONE thing. But when people whine that there is no manual on parenting - well there is. Actually - there are now hundreds of them. Some of them are better than others. Some of them only cover a narrow aspect of what is helpful. Which is why all of us parents need multiple sources, multiple resources, multiple tools & a range of approaches to help our children maximize their potential. Not be perfect - but just have resilience & make the best of their own lives, whatever that looks like for them.
Designing the tools of resilience in our kids is the major 'umbrella' that research is showing offers the best outcome for our kids. If we can teach them & train them in the tools for resiliency they have the best chance for Thriving, rather than just 'surviving.'
These books each have a 'flavor' of this, which is why I love them so much.
What is really important to note is that WE need to learn these tools - before we can go about teaching them to our children. Just remember that.
I hope you find these & enjoy them with your children as much as I have <3
If you loved this blog, sign up for my Pretty Aggressive Weekly Newsletter!
Visit www.prettyaggressive.ca
to sign up & receive blogs on physical health, mental health, nutrition, great podcasts, book reviews, building resiliency, bio-hacking products & more!
If you would like to start building your Core Resiliency Skills contact Coach Julia today. You will learn how to Thrive beyond your damage, become a Transitional Character, break abuse cycles in your family cycle & build the core resiliency skills most often missed when being raised in a low nurture environment.
Julia is a Holistic Health Consultant, holding a Double Diploma in Community Support & Addictions Work, is a Certified Transformation Specialist, Personal Trainer & Nutrition Coach & a Lvl 2 Reiki Practitioner. She specializes in Trauma Informed Practice & Resiliency Coaching and Holistic Pregnancy & Postpartum Health Coaching. PrettyAggressiveRecovery@gmail.com
Comments