My kids have a CD they have listened to for a couple of years now. It is called Five Funny Critters and it's designed to help children (especially nervous ones) deal with typical childhood anxieties.
There is the groundhog who is afraid of his shadow. There is the caterpillar who is afraid of change. There is the beagle who does not want to run with the pack. There is the fish who doesn't want to go to school, and there is the bear who doesn't want to go to sleep.
The narrator delivers the stories in a soothing respectful tone.
When we first got the CD, my kids wanted to hear it every night. That lasted for months, and then it was on to other things, but occasionally they still ask for it. It's still in the pile by the CD player in the hall between the kids rooms, for easy access.
Last week, Riley had a problem. She seemed pretty worried. She wanted to me know there was a problem, but didn't want to tell me specifics. I pried a little, making sure it wasn't a safety/body issue, and then had to concede. She wanted to work something through on her own, and I had to respect that.
At bed, she told HT, "I have a plan about my problem."
"That's great! What are you going to do?" He asked.
"I'm going to listen to Five Funny Critters to take my mind off it, and then I'm going to be asleep."
Awesome.
We never heard another thing about the problem, whatever it was.
There are a few little critters I'd like to thank.
16 comments:
Love this fabulous, self-initiated problem solving! Huge.
We used to love Jim Weiss's "Good Night" and "Sweet Dreams" CDs. Lovely visualizations -- very stress-relieve-y. Highly recommended if she ever tires of the critters.
Running with the pack is over-rated.
Love this story, and that Riley Girl, however.
To this day I sometimes sing myself a little "snail" song from a childhood tape (no CDs back then): "Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry. If you get impatient, you only start to worry. Remember, remember, that God is patient too and think of all the times when others had to wait for you."
Can you send them over here for me, please?
Did you know the name "Riley" means "Magic" in the Highlands?
love that she wanted to tackle it herself! go riley!
and i think we all could use a little critter time
Girl's got mad problem solving skills.
Must have gotten them from her folks.
How great that she wanted to resolve the issue herself, and that she was able to do so! I'm now looking for a copy of the cd from our library...sounds interesting.
that is SO FANTASTIC!!!! i'm so proud of her!!!
i'm going to order that CD. pronto!
I learn a lot from Riley!
"She wanted to work something through on her own, and I had to respect that." It is amazing that Riley is growing in this way. Truly amazing. It is equally amazing to me that you were able to respect her boundary. You aren't forcing her to depend on you. That is SO hard to do when you've had to hold her hand through so much for so long. I'll try to remember this when my turn comes.
Yay, Riley! So glad the Critters helped, as she thought they would. xoxo
I know a few adults who could follow that example. *cough*
Wise girl.
:)
I'll have to check that out! Sounds a bit like the "Scaredy Squirrel" books- and those have been a huge help to my kiddo!
Thanks for the recommendation!
we should all be this good at dealing with our problems. honestly, the things we learn from children.
I am surprised I never heard of this CD before now. Will have to look into it, thanks and great she was able to recall the CD and use it to sooth herself and the issue at hand.
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