Helping kids find their inner voice

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Transcription:

I think the most important thing you can do as a mother, as a father, as a granny, is to help children trust their inner voice, trust the truth that is within them. And in so doing, it might even help us trust our own inner voices. When children are faced with a decision, other than imposing your absolutely correct view of what should happen upon a child, I think it’s really imperative to hear the challenges that they’re facing in their own head about that decision. Ask the questions that help them come up with what you might think is the right solution. And if it doesn’t feel like the right solution, I suppose we have to honor their thoughts. But try to help guide them through a process, not just impose. And constantly encourage children to stand still, to be mindful. This is a big word nowadays is mindfulness. Mindfulness is really taking the time that we all need to take which is to go inside ourselves and really listen. And when we do go inside, there is a voice that we can hear. So maybe the first thing to do is start doing it ourselves. Because when we’re honoring our own inner voice, I think we can honor a child’s inner voice that much better.

Video Categories: ALL PARENTS, Parenting, Resilience and Problem Solving, Parents with a Purpose

Kathy Eldon, Parent with a Purpose, shares advice for parents on the importance of children finding and trusting their inner voice and how to help your child find his or her own inner voice

Transcript

Expert Bio

Kathy Eldon

Parent with a Purpose and Founder & CEO, Creative Visions Foundation

Kathy Eldon was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She graduated from Wellesley College and has since worked as an art teacher, television presenter, magazine editor, journalist, media consultant and a television and film producer in Kenya, England and the United States. She has written seventeen books on a variety of subjects including Angel Catcher, a Journal of Loss and Remembrance; Soul Catcher: a Journal to Help You Become Who You Really Are; and Love Catcher, a Journal to Invite more Love in Your Life, all published by Chronicle Books. The journals were co-authored with her daughter Amy, who is her partner in Creative Visions, a television and film production company.

Kathy was the Executive Producer of the 1999 Emmy nominated Turner Broadcasting two-hour documentary, Dying to tell the Story, about journalists who risk their lives to do their jobs, which was conceived of and presented by Amy Eldon. In l999 Kathy exec-produced a one-hour CNN documentary, Soldiers of Peace: A Children's Crusade, about the Colombian children's peace movement, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Both films were distributed internationally to over 220 countries. Kathy's company also produced Lost in Africa, a family feature film distributed by Columbia Pictures internationally.

Kathy is currently producing a feature film about her son, artist and Reuters photographer Dan Eldon, who was stoned to death at the age of 22 in Somalia. In May, 2011, Kathy and Amy exec-produced, together with Julia Roberts, "Extraordinary Moms," a tribute to the power of mothers to change the world around them. Hosted by Julia Roberts, the special featured Hillary Clinton, Rosie O'Donnell and Christiane Amanpour.

Kathy edited The Journey is the Destination, a collection of Dan's journal pages which was published by Chronicle Books. Kathy and Amy are co-founders of Creative Visions Foundation, which supports "creative activists" who use media and the arts to create positive change. Over the past 10 years the foundation has incubated more than 80 projects and productions on five continents, touching the lives of more than 10 million people.

Parenting expert on: Parents with a Purpose, Values, Loss of a Child, Suffering and Grief Support

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