Children relate to life on a different level to adults. Often we struggle to find ways to communicate with them. When they are little it is perhaps easier but as they develop into teenagers it often becomes even harder to teach them the values they need to lead independent, productive lives.
Last week at a health expo I had a reminder on this topic from a colleague. Moira Lescuyer is a published author. Her book Little Life Reminders was a reminder to me about the gap in availability of gentle children’s books; books that can teach children not only to love reading and gain knowledge, but that also communicate important values to them.
Moira was inspired to write the book when she was pregnant with her first child. She was undertaking an aromatherapy course at the time which taught her how to make different emulsions and spa products using organic essential oils. The company that was running the course was holding a writing competition, to write a short children’s story. One of the compulsory criteria was to mention an essential oil in the story.
Moira says about Little Life Reminders that she wanted to create a book that many people of different ages could appreciate on different levels. The book reads differently to many others out on the market as it is a short, colourful story incorporating aromatherapy, crystals, kindness, compassion and many more important values.
Moira did not win first prize in the competition but that didn’t stop her. This book is a testimony for those people who do not succeed on their very first attempts. Moira did not give up on her dreams. She advises others “to chase [dreams] tenaciously and to follow your life’s path and see the amazing synchronicities along the way. It’s all about the journey. Remaining positive and focused on your goals allows you to see that the universe truly works in amazing ways.”
Communicating with our children
Moira’s message is to communicate and she does so through this story. This is important, especially when children are entering those trying teenage years and making the transition to adulthood. Lots of times in our fast-paced world the gentleness regarding the dreams and ideals of younger years is lost. Those of us who are older and grew up with fairy tales of Cinderella and magic can compare these to the violence and guns in some of today’s entertainment.
Many times nowadays children grow up too fast. They become caught in life’s demands. And that doesn’t only apply to children exposed to domestic, social, family issues. All children are exposed to the information hotline that speeds them on through the younger years and makes them into mini adults. This can be due to peer pressure, inept advertising and hyped-up messages which gloss over important values children need to learn.
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I spoke to Moira for a while at the expo. She has been a senior business studies/economics teacher for a number of years. She also works in her spare time in the areas of metaphysics and has a keen interest in healthy food and lifestyles. She is a mother of three young children who she says have always been her number one supporters. This inspired Moira to press forward and follow her “inner voice and guidance”.
Her book was published and is available from myself, your bookstore or as an e-book. Determined to reach her goal, Moira had put her name down in the Oprah lottery to see and meet Oprah and was selected. She also appeared live on a television programme, One, in Malta while on a family holiday, where she spoke about her book. The experiences from publishing this book were rewarding, fun, exciting and beyond what she even imagined.
Briefly, the story is about a little girl and a lavender plant that does not flower and is branded useless by the gardener. The story continues as to how Anjolie nurtures this plant to become accepted and loved, and to blossom. It is within the grasp of children to understand and, as a parent, I would read it to younger children and seize the opportunity to explain the values embodied on the way through the story.
There are many children’s books out there that pass on a message but they are not the one’s being pushed at the front of the store or in the hot advertising. Take a browse through your bookstore or through the internet and see what books you can get to assist your children in better relating to, understanding and accepting the world and themselves. This is a lesson for all of us, not just our children. The message of Little Life Reminders is one we could all use when we are feeling down on ourselves and the world.
