Sleep at the End of the School Year?

Dear Community,

Are the kids in your life having trouble sleeping lately? Mine sure are. With the school year winding down, one might think they're beginning to relax and look forward to summer. Yes, they are looking forward to summer, but no, they are not relaxing. In fact, more and more young ones and teens are coming into my office complaining they are having great difficulty sleeping - a time when relaxation is critical. They can't get their mind to stop, they can't unwind their bodies, they keep worrying about today and tomorrow. 

With all the stress and anxiety kids are facing - at school, with friends, and even with their families - they are unconsciously programming their own minds to do exactly what they don't want: not sleep.  But it can be turned around. Relaxation, guided imagery and meditaton - all close cousins - are powerful ways kids can learn to sleep by reprograming their minds with their imaginations. 

From my Article archive and in honor of the focus this week on sleep from a wonderful website www.Intent.com

Using Imagery to Create 
A Soothing Blanket of Sleep 

It's the end of the day. You're tired. You've worked hard. The children have finally gone to bed. You're looking forward to some peace and quiet by yourself. All of a sudden you hear the cries of your normally loving youngster: "I can't sleep!" Or, your teen charges into the room and insists that they can't fall asleep because they're worrying about an exam the next day - a recent argument with their best friend - or a problem with their teacher. Wouldn't you like them to learn a technique to help let go of worries and tensions of the day and fall asleep peacefully and easily? 

Guided imagery has been an especially effective tool in alleviating many kinds of sleep disturbances. When children and adolescents have difficulty sleeping at night, imagery can offer a soothing and comforting way to drift off into dreams. Children discover their own solutions by using tools such as meeting a wise 'animal' friend for advice or receiving a special gift to help fall asleep. 

Go to http://www.imageryforkids.com/art_soothingblanket.asp 

for the rest of the article and more ways guided imagery can help your child and the children you work with. And be sure to visit www.Intent.com for many more viewpoints on sleep.

Many blessings,

Dr. Charlotte

Children's Meditation: Many Ways to Connect Within

Mallika's Chopra's post on www.Intent.com about the TM movement and children's meditation touched my heart and reminded me how I've been quietly helping children meditate for the past 25 years, not  calling it "meditation." At least not till recently. Because when I started in the inner city schools in Los Angeles, it was not possible to mention the word meditate. Knowing the positive power of the breath, and following my own Eastern practice, instead I taught the "balloon breath," which of course is a basic form of  meditation. "It's the way in" one young child informed me. The way in to the vast inner world that awaits each of us when we slow down and connect to our core wisdom. 

Here's a sample script from my forthcoming book, The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success (Perigee/Penguin NY, August 4, 2009). I find that  a child as young as four can learn this. I often start with three balloon breaths eyes opened, followed by three balloon breaths eyes closed. Slowly work your way up to a minute, then add another minute every two weeks till you reach five minutes. And if you find you're wanting more, lots of variations will be found in the book - or perhaps in another post. 

Many blessings,

Dr. Charlotte

www.ImageryForKids.com

“Imagine blowing up a balloon. Then picture letting the air out slowly, until the balloon goes flat. Can you see it? In a minute, we’re going to pretend your stomach is a balloon. You’re going to take a deep breath in, all the way down to your lower belly, hold it for a few seconds, then let it go gently.

“Get ready by putting your hands on your belly, about two inches below your bellybutton. Good.

“Now, take a few minutes to think about your breathing. Take a slow deep breath. Feel it going in and out… in and out. That’s right. Breathe slowly so your belly and your hands rise and fall. Good.

“Let’s breathe in even slower – to the count of one…two…three.

“Now breathe out just as slowly…one…two…three.

“Take a few minutes to practice…

 “When you’re ready, pay attention to your hands and your feet. Where are they? What are they touching?

“Now open your eyes slowly.”

 

 

Teenage Stress - Implications for Adult Health

We all know that stress affects us. We see its effects in our clear (or not) thinking, our shorter fuses, our tired bodies at the end of the day. We also figure our kids are resilient and can get through a lot of what life doles out. However, here's an alert for its long-term affects on our youth.

A new study through UCLA (Andrew J. Fuligni and colleagues) has shown that normal teens who reported negative interpersonal interactions (with family, friends, or school personnel), experienced stress that not only affected their psychological state, but were associated with higher levels of an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein, CRP). CRP has been associated with developing cardiovascular disease later in life. 

Mark Wheeler from UCLA writes the results suggest "the association of interpersonal stress with inflammation exists regardless of individual teens' psychological appraisal of stressful experiences or any tendency to be particularly sensitive to social rejection." 

Go to the UCLA Newsroom website http://newsroom.ucla.edu "Teenage Stress Has Implications for Adult Health" for the full article.

What to do? Arm your kid with stress-busting practices such as the "balloon breath," a basic form of meditation. Meditation has been shown to be a great antidote to the stresses of modern life. You'll be able to read more about this and other transformational tips in my upcoming book, The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success, being published by Perigee/Penguin NY August 4th (www.amazon.com for preorders).

Warmly,

Dr. Charlotte

Welcome back and Intro to Intent.com

It's been ages since I've blogged and all because I've been hard at work finishing up my new book, The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success to be published August 4th, 2009 by Perigee/Penguin NY. I'm thrilled and hope the information will help many, many families and professionals.

Today I want to introduce you to a wonderful website, www.Intent.com. It's a premier wellness site where people can connect and support each other's intentions relating to personal, social, and global wellness.

Deepak Chopra, Don Miquel Ruiz, Debbie Ford, Marianne Williamson, Larry Dossey, Ed Begley Jr., Barbara Marx Hubbard, Fran Drescher, and Russell Simmons all contribute to Intent. And now, so do I. In fact, just for today they are featuring one of my articles on their Home page with three other contributors. Just go to www.Intent.com and look for the box of changing photos near the top of the page and click to the right, "Can't Sleep? Try Imagery." Deepak Chopra is also featured today with "What is Dharma."

His daughter, Mallika, created the site out of her dream to "create a place where we can all find inspiration, connect with others, and become who we aspire to be as individuals, as a society, and as a planet."

I invite you to this special site and hope you all find inspiration and connection.

Warmly,

Dr. Charlotte

Tools For Raising Healthy Children: Guided Imagery For Kids

Dear Community,

I'm delighted to share "Tools for Raising Healthy Children: Guided Imagery For Kids." an interview for the web based radio show Vibrant Living.

To listen, go to http://www.ImageryForKids.com/media.asp. It's the top Radio Interview - just press the Play button.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Warmly,

Dr. Charlotte

How Violence in the Media Affects Kids

For all the talk about how watching violent TV or playing violent computer games affects our children, there are many that think it's no big deal. But it really is. I've reviewed an information packed book by Jerome and Dorothy Singer, Imagination and Play in the Electronic Age, and they have compiled much of the research in the area and the results are clear. Over and over again. There is no good reason to expose our kids to violent TV, movies, video games, or internet. Please go to my review at  www.imageryforkids.com/art_imagination.asp for the full explanation. 

On the other hand, there is good news about other types of TV, video and computer games. That's in the review as well, with lots of ideas on what to choose and how to stimulate your child's imagination.

And if you haven't heard enough after reading my review, you can order the book for yourself through their publisher at www.baywood.com.

Happy watching and playing!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, a day celebrating love seems like a good day to connect back to all. It's been ages since I've posted.  I've been working on my book (to be published by Perigee Spring 2009) and taking care of kids at the office, so my lovely Blog has been waiting. But I couldn't resist sharing these wise words from kids on Love and Marriage. Sure made me smile - hope it does you too. Please send in your favorite kid quotes!

Kids on Love and Marriage....
What would you do on a first date that was turning sour?
"I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns." Craig, age 9

When is it OK to kiss someone?
"The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that." Curt, age 7

How do you decide who to marry?
"No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with." Kirsten, age 10

Is it better to be single or married?
"Single is better, for the reason that I wouldn't want to change diapers. If I did get married, I'd just phone my mother and have her come over for some coffee and diaper-changing." Kirsten, age 10

What is the right age to be married?
"Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then." Camille, age 10

How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
"You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids." Derrick, age 8

How would the world be different if people didn't get married?
There would sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?" Kelvin, age 8

How would you make a marriage work?
"Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck." Ricky, age 10