"Cartoonversation." The sound of that could set off any number of ideas in your head, but keep reading here, we've really got something for parents and teachers alike that can help them in incredible ways when dealing with their kids and pre-teens when it comes to the harder subjects to discuss in life. Add in a little editorial honesty here, talking to kids and pre teens about some of the tougher things in life in today's day and age has blown up to a task of almost unimaginable proportion thanks to the immersion of all we see and hear, everywhere.
I'm going to rewind a little. "Talks" were not really a "thing" growing up. You got yelled at when you did something stupid, that generally corrected things. If not, round two, there may have been a paint stick or two involved. After all, the generation of parents the 50 something crowd came from, they were much more stoic and not really conversationalists over issues. Today, the approach is widely different and while I am sure kids are still being kids when it comes to some things, the idea of learning from a bad example and talking about what someone did and why it was wrong or hurtful seem to be leading to a little more understanding among the little ones. That can't be all bad. There are also the beginnings of mindfulness being taught to really young kids in some areas to help them understand what they are going through and how to best deal with the situation. Progress right?
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Well, for some, these subjects may still be very hard to bring up. Racism, bully's, citizenship, police, responsibility around home, divorce, social media and mental health just scratch the surface of the Cartoonversation series for kids that local award winning creative giant Tim Wheeler has come up with along with Curriculum Directors, teachers and parents to help them navigate the paths to discussion on things that are so essential but so often polarized in the media that no one really knows what to think if you are doing a little channel surfing between this or that. Put yourself in the shoes of a 9 year old on the playground and half of their friends households watch one brand of news, the other half watch option b for news.....and they parrot all they hear. You know they do, let's try to not sweep it under the rug.
Well, along with the book series, there's going to be an event his coming Saturday at the Playhouse at White Lake where Tim along with a few friends introduce the book to the community and give kids a chance to interact with municipal leaders and have these stories read to them and let the kids ask questions and get "hands on" with some of the tools of the trade for those municipal leaders. You'll find the list of them all below our conversation with Tim Wheeler of Wheeler Creative Studios and Cindy Beth Davis-Dykema who's with the Playhouse at White Lake. Take a listen.
It's a free event and as you'll see below, so many have given up their time to be a part of this event to reach out to kids and let them know it's ok to talk. Wading through the scary stuff as a kid is a nightmare to begin with and parents can often be found lost in what to say and how to address things if for nothing else than being afraid of some examples that have already been set inadvertently. Take the time to pay a visit with your kids to the historic and beautifully renovated Playhouse at White Lake for this immersive experience and find a complete tool kid to begin to talk to your kids about the things that are difficult and continue to have those talks as they grow!
