I recently had the opportunity to review this wonderful new book by Anthony Recenello (Most of you, including me, know him as @charismatickid on twitter). The book is titled Charismatic Kid, The new breed of Superhero. It will be released tomorrow, September 10th.
I have to admit, the first thing that drew me in was the super cute cover. I mean, look at that adorable child. I smile every time I see it!
On to the book... I've read a few parenting books and they were helpful but honestly? They were boring. It took me forever to get through them because it all sounds like a textbook to me. And I get bored very easily. I can't count the number of hairstyles and colors I've went through just from boredom. I'd wake up one day and think, hmm, I think I'm gonna chop 10 inches off my hair, dye it bright red and spike it! Ok, that was way off topic but the point is, I did not get bored at all reading this book. Anthony mixes humor, knowledge and personal stories from his experiences in his writing. He words things in such a way that it is easy for anyone to understand (even me, a mom with way too little sleep and a wandering mind!). One minute I was laughing and was inspired the next. I know it sounds cheesy and totally geeky of me but from all the lessons I learned in this book, it seemed like it was written just for me! It not only helped me with parenting but with me personally as well. Most of you probably don't know this but I'm incredibly shy so it taught me a lot.
There is a part in the book that talks about hyper children. And if you know anything from this blog, it's that Gavin is a tiny little tornado of energy. He is very outgoing and likable but a lot of times, he gets so excited and talks so fast when meeting new people, they can't understand what he's saying! This part of the book was a God send. Seriously!
I have a ton of favorite parts from the book but if I shared them all, there would be no reason for you to buy the book would there? :)
Here is an excerpt that really helped me understand what my hyper child feels like and why he does the crazy things he does:
" After working with children for over half a decade, I have a better grasp on the real issue. Children are little balls of energy. They get a ton of sleep, and have a lot of steam to burn off with their little bodies. When you try to subdue an excited child, his energy bottles up even more. And what happens to something bubbly and active when it becomes more and more bottled up? Eventually, it bursts. This leads to expending energy in undesirable ways: maybe lashing out at other kids, screaming in public, interrupting others, hitting, running into people, or throwing things.
I know how a kid feels when his energy is bottled up, eventually when it’s released, it comes out all at once from twenty to forty-five minute intervals. Think of a normal child that is able to disperse his
energy regularly throughout the day. It is rationed, so it comes out at a even level and doesn’t get out of hand. But a hyperactive child is told to hold that energy back, and so he will release it in random spurts when he can’t contain himself any longer."
I know it sounds simple but I had never thought of it in that way. I had been trying to make him hold all that energy in. I was actually making it worse!
And now one of my favorite quotes from the book. (I'm not entirely sure why but I love it!):
"Let your inner calmness subdue the storm."
I'll leave you with that quote and tell you to give "Charismatic Kid: The New Breed of Superhero" a shot. I've never read anything like it before. I know you'll learn something and be entertained while you do! Go. Check it out. Well not now silly, it doesn't come out until tommorow but then. Definately then. I promise you'll like it and I wouldn't lie to you.
