Teaching Humanity Remotely with Dr. Mindy Shaw – Podcast Ep 42

For podcast #42, once again I decided to hold off on continuing the discussion of the Q&A section of my parenting book.  That book is titled I LIKE HOW YOU SPEAK TO ME… A PARENT’S GUIDE FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH CHILDREN.  There are two more questions and answers to discuss on this podcast series… question 10 of the top ten most frequently asked questions by parents, and bonus question #11.  I will get to those items soon, but again, for this episode, I decided to share a few thoughts that were currently top of mind.  In fact, two things happened recently to me recently related to my work and I decided to share my reaction to those events as the subject matter on this podcast.

Firstly, I feel compelled to share the story of a young child who I met at an event who has been reading my children’s picture books for social and emotional learning.  I had not met him before… he only knew me as the character in my books.  When the child met the real life “Min Min,” he was enthralled.  He asked about Olivia, the other “star” of the book series, and he wanted to meet her as well.  It was a very gratifying and validating moment to know that the material that I’m sharing that I feel is so important really does has the kind of impact that I am intending for children, for families and for educators.  I say this not from an ego point of view, but from the point of view promoting humanity.

Secondly, I wanted to share that I came across a negative review of one of my books on Amazon, a review where one of my simplest books was critiqued as “too advanced” for young children.  Earlier in my career, I would have been defensive about something that I saw as critical.  Instead, I saw this as an eye-opening experience because it was a reminder that my ability to communicate with young children is so uncommon that it can be perceived as over the heads of youngsters when in fact, young children understand my words implicitly.  After 30 years of teaching young children about life, I have a knack for communicating with children.  I am completely honest with young children, and they sense that.  For the adult who felt the material was too advanced for their child, I would say read it to your child, maybe 2 or 3 times, and see if they don’t comprehend.  All of my books model the exact way in which I communicate respectfully and honestly with children and children always seem to respond.  Yes, the way I present content is unusual TO GROWN-UPS, but children get it, and I’m thrilled that I have a chance on my podcast to address this and explain how the directness and the clarity of my material works for children.

More than likely, I will get back into the conversation that we’ve been having about the content of my recently published parenting guide in this podcast series soon… that’s when I will address the 10th question in the Q&A section of my book about effective communication with children, so please stay tuned for that.  In the meantime, thanks for visiting and for listening.  You can hear Podcast 42 here:

https://learnwithmeremotely.podbean.com/e/teaching-humanity-remotely-with-dr-mindy-shaw-ep-42/

And you can find the parenting guide on Amazon right here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WJRX7JF