On a recent episode of Remarkable Radio WCKG AM/FM Chicago with Mark Imperial, Precious Allen, Chicago Teacher and Author of The Children’s Book Titled Love You For You, discussed The Keys For Kids To Build Their Self-Esteem.
According to Allen, few books teach kids how to have self-esteem.
Allen stated, “A lot of the books that I read to my kids are about anti-bullying. A lot of the books are about how I should treat you and that’s fine, but I had not come across many books that teach kids how to love themselves and take care of themselves. I haven’t come across a lot of books that teach kids how to have self-esteem. Why is it that if I compliment you I’m being kind, but if I compliment myself I’m being arrogant? I don’t understand why there’s shame in having self-esteem. I was reading on CNN the other day; they released an article back in 2016 showing that the suicide rate amongst children, ages 10 to 14, has doubled. There are articles also articles that report kids committing suicide at ages seven and eight. If we can give kids a sense of self, a sense of living, then those kinds of things (bullying, depression, etc) probably wouldn’t affect them to the point to where they would want to kill themselves.”
When host Mark Imperial asked how parents and kids can discover self-esteem through her book Allen answered, “The book gears towards self-esteem, and it really teaches kids … I’m just hoping that it can be an intervention for kids to where it can prevent bullying and suicide. Parents can use it as a tool to just remind their kids of how beautiful they are, of how they are worth living…The book also talks about having choices. It talks about not being pompous and arrogant, but just loving yourself for who you truly are. If you’re a quiet person, that’s okay. If you’re a loud and vibrant person, then that’s okay. Just having that self-esteem and teaching kids to love themselves before the world teaches them to hate themselves. You can teach the kid you’re great, you’re awesome, you were made out of love, and then one person can say one sentence that can demolish all of that. It really just teaches kids how to have the thick skin when an adult isn’t around”.
During the Interview Allen shared the negative effects of being bullied, explaining, “Well, from experience I was bullied. I was too tall, I was too skinny, I wore homeless looking clothes, but also from the ages of five to 12, I was molested by three people. That took a big toll on my self-esteem…Even during my time of when I was going through that stage in my life, I never contemplated suicide. It wasn’t until I was a teenager. That’s one thing that the book is leading towards. Suicide is no longer a teenager/adult issue anymore. It’s affecting our youth now. These conversations are not being had in the classroom. It’s not. We talk about anti-bullying, we talk about being kind, we talk about how we should treat each other, but we don’t talk about suicide in the classroom, and it’s a real thing. The kids are really feeling like this is the end-all be-all because they don’t have friends at school or because someone has made them feel less than”.
Precious Allen is an educator who is passionate about human rights and global citizenship. She is a teacher in Chicago, Illinois and has a B.A. in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Reading Specialist. She enjoys donating to charities, jogging, and spending time with her family and friends.
The interview concluded with Allen saying “I do a lot of meditating in my classroom, and one exercise I do at the beginning of the year that completely changes at the end of the year is that I ask kids, I say, “Okay. Tell me what you like about your partner.” They can tell me a million things. Then I say, “Tell me what you like about yourself.” They’re like, “Ah, I can color.” They’re hesitant. It’s like self-evaluation is hard for them. I do a lot of meditating with my kids. I do a lot of yoga. We do a lot of affirmations. Things like I am worthy, I am worth living, just things like that. By the end of the school year, they’re a completely different person. It really reduces a lot of classroom management behaviors in my classroom”.
To listen to the full interview on Remarkable Radio WCKG AM/FM Chicago, visit https://www.wckg.com/remarkableradio/precious-allen/.
To purchase Precious Allen’s book please visit:
Austin Macauley Publishers:
http://www.austinmacauley.com/author/allen-precious
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