my son's experience
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Hi Everyone,
I am new at this forum. I just want to share with you my son's experience supporting his 3 years old son's development. As everyone they met a lot of new problems helping their child to learn a new emotional and social skills. My son is teacher and a writer and he have found that to make stories and tell this stories to his son at night help him a lot to develop different social, emotional an communication skills and also healthy habits. I just want to introduce to you one of these stories. All the stories are made on the real experience and needs. Really want to hear your opinion  There are a series of stories about Baby Crocodile Toma, one of them to your attention
One morning, Little Crocodile Toma woke up in a grumpy mood. He was laying on his bed with a frown on his face. Toma thought: "Who should I bite ?!" The thought of wanting to bite someone for no reason made Toma feeling surprised. Toma kept thinking:” I don’t want to bite Mum. Mummy is good. She is very kind. Mummy loves Toma. I don’t want to bite Dad. Daddy is good. He is very caring. Dad loves Toma. And it would be scary to bite Dad. What if he bites back? Daddy has such big sharp teeth, that when he smiles, the birds fly off the branches and far away. And monkeys quickly hide in the jungle. Toma got up and walked to his parents room, snapping his teeth. “Good morning, Toma,” says Mummy, smiling, at the little crocodile. “Not good morning,” says Toma. “Good morning, Toma,” says the Daddy, smiling at the little crocodile. “Not good morning,” says Toma. - What happened to Toma? - ask puzzled Dad and Mom - crocodiles. Their moth stretched down in surprise. “Nothing happened,” says Toma. “Let's go brush our teeth, Toma,” says Mom “Let's not go brush our teeth,” replies Toma “Let's have some breakfast, Toma,” says Dad. “Lets not have some breakfast,” says Toma crocodile. And although he really wanted to eat, the thought of objecting to daddy and mummy was stronger. Mummy and Daddy crocodiles decided to call doctor – python to see Toma. Doctor- python was old, and very, very wise. He wore big round glasses. He knew almost everything about children. And if he did not know something, he immediately checked in a large, thick book, which listed all children’s behaviours. He immediately asked Toma: - Are you having a bad mood, Toma? ‘Yes!’,- Toma shouted. – “I am in a bad mood”. - ‘Have you been feeling like that all morning?’ - the doctor-python specified. “When nothing has happened yet?” “Yes all morning,” said Toma, “when nothing has happened yet.” Dr Python turned to Mummy and Daddy crocodiles and said: “Your little Toma has started to develop a character. Thats very good news! Congratulations!’ -“ But what do we do?” asked confused Mom. “Character means that he is already a big and smart crocodile. And you need to explain everything, he will understand,” said the wise doctor. “Let's go brush our teeth, Toma,” Mom said when the python doctor left -“Let's not go brush our teeth,” - Toma showed his character “Then your teeth will become bad,” said the Mum Crocodile, “and get sore. And you wouldn’t be able to eat well, Toma. You will have to see dentist and treat bad teeth. Toma thought and said: - Let's go brush our teeth, mum. I do not want my teeth to hurt. He was already big and smart, he had a character, and he understood everything. “Let's have breakfast, Toma,” said the Dad, when the little crocodile brushed his teeth. “Let's not go to breakfast,” said Toma. - Well, Toma, you don’t have to eat. But then you stay small and thin. And you will never be as big and strong as your father, and will not be know as The Thunder of Nile. Toma thought and said: - Let's go have breakfast, Dad. Then Dad, Mum and Toma sat together at the table and ate delicious porridge, sandwiches with sausage and cheese, drank tea and juice. - What is character? - asked Toma. “Character,” answered Daddy, “this is what makes you a real crocodile, Toma. Good, kind and decent crocodile, which is respected and loved by other animals. And love, Mum and Dad. Show your character, Toma. But always respect and listen Mummy and Daddy. - I want to watch cartoons for three days in a row! - Said Toma, deciding that the character is great. - Aha, nice try! - answered Mummy and Daddy-crocodiles together. |
Anonymous
|
Thank you for sharing. I have three comments.
(1) I think it's a great idea to narrate children's milestones in an accessible manner. (2) As a teacher and a writer, your son should know that it's "Whom should I bite ?!" (3) This is clearly something that is written by a man. Your son may want to think about incorporating strong female characters into his stories. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, lost me 1/3 the way. |
Anonymous
| TL;DR: are you workshopping a children's book here? |
Anonymous
| I'm sorry, but WHAT? Too long. |
Anonymous
| What in the world are you talking about? Is this weird foreign spam or trolling? Your 3 year old has a 3 year old child? What? |
Anonymous
| I feel like just reading the post will give me a virus |
Anonymous
|
Anonymous
| I think there's some value here but this forum is not the right place for this information. |
IrinaE
Member Offline
Member Offline
|
Sorry, I didn't explain it properly. I am not a troll, and it is not a virus. I didn't want workshopping the stories.
My son is 42 years old, he lives in Moscow and writes in Russian. This is the translation of the story, and may be it is not good enough. He made around 20 stories/tales about the Crocodile Toma. His 3 years old son chose this character and so love to listen about him. And it helped a lot to devolop the skills and to start to understand himself. My son is going to publish these tales and I just wanted to ask for your opinion. Thank you. |
Anonymous
|
It's hard to say without context and pictures. I think it's a little heavy-handed (which means that it really comes on strong with the moral lesson.)
Have you seen the kids book Where the Wild Things Are? That book has wonderful "lessons" about character and self-control, but it doesn't announce those lessons. That is why kids love it. Teach kids without announcing your are teaching them. |
Anonymous
| Children do not like or respond well to "lessons" that hit them over the head. This story is preachy and the language is confusing. |