Book Description

As a parent, I would like to assume that all parents care about their children's emotional well being as much as their performance at school. There is a significant amount of research which indicates that if children are able to manage their emotions effectively, they can easily learn and do better at school. Furthermore, when reaching adulthood, they can also be more successful in their professional and personal lives. I have written this book to help parents understand and explain to their children the topic of emotions and how important they are in our lives. Long gone are the days when emotions were a taboo topic at the dinner table. Young people today are exposed to more information than ever before and most of them feel comfortable enough to discuss delicate matters with their families, including how they feel about things that affect them. However, many adults still find this task quite daunting. Perhaps it is because they do not know much about emotions themselves or maybe this subject was never discussed with their own parents. While conducting workshops on emotional intelligence and asking participants what they learnt at home, it never ceases to amaze me the range of responses that I usually receive. By the end of the workshops, once people have learnt how emotions work, many wish that they could travel back in time to start their parenthood experience all over again. I always ask them if they would do anything differently, now that they know how it all works. Everyone nods affirmatively. In my humble opinion, I believe that anyone responsible for the upbringing of a child needs to learn about emotions. Every parent needs to learn about and understand their own emotions. Sharing this knowledge with our offspring is as important as watching a movie or playing football. Going through joyful and sad moments together can make the parent-child relationship stronger and deeper. This is why I feel the moral duty to transfer to others what I have learnt as I go through life. To convert these concepts in my head into this modern fairy tale, I have engaged two young and amazing people: Samantha Boyd, a talented illustrator and Evan O'Dwyer, the creative story teller. "What did your parents teach you about emotions?" attempts, in simple words, to explain the basics of how the brain, emotions, thoughts and feelings operate and what we can do to deal with the ups and downs in life, as we face situations which can generate anger, sadness, stress and feelings of rejection. The book also intends to expand childrens' (and maybe parents') emotional literacy and understanding of brain functions. To identify and easily recall the different terms, emotions are shown in purple, brain related words in blue and the characters' thoughts in italics. Fun games, puzzles and a competition are included at the back of the book to reinforce the new learning. The intention of this book is to encourage parents to discuss emotions with their children. It can also be read by the children themselves, hopefully once they have shared a loving moment with their carers. Silvia Damiano