It took a cancer diagnosis to realize life is too short to worry about being “normal” (whatever that is.) Now that I’m a mom I wonder, “How can I help my kids learn to let their own little “freak flags” fly?”
Now that I am a parent, and my girls are old enough, I want to watch this film with them. My girls are biracial (like me) and I think it will be meaningful for them to see our family represented in the mix of families presented.
What would happen if you filmed your children’s experiences for 13 years from kindergarten through high school graduation and put it all together to make a film? If you were filmmakers, Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, the result would be a new film called American Promise. This film, which won a Sundance Jury Award, airs nationally on PBS on February 3, 2014.
The other day, my husband and I were blown away by a specific comment that one of my girls made during a routine squabble. Daughter “A” decided to pull out the big guns in their verbal tête-à-tête when she “casually” told Daughter “B”… “Your butt is big.” (!) …
Research shows that parents can have a big impact by creating a structured, well-supported environment at home. The developmental needs of children, and the school environments vary considerably at different grade levels. Nonetheless, the tips I’ll share below apply to ages.