The 7 Habits of Happy Kids

It’s hard having my parents live on the other side of the world.  Even though I speak to them both most days I still miss physically having them here.  We are very lucky that the kids still have a great relationship with them (thanks to modern technology).  I’m sure Miss L thinks that ‘Yampa’ and ‘Ganny’ live in the ipad!!  We’ve taught Master J and Miss H how to use FaceTime and they often call my parents for a chat.  I’m not sure how well received it is though, as they haven’t quite got the hang of the time zones and end up waking them up in the middle of the night to tell them some random fact!!  

My mum is also very good at writing letters to the kids with lots of little pictures telling them all about what’s happening in England.  They adore it, especially stories about how the squirrels have eaten all the birds food making Grandpa very cross, or how a mouse climbed into Granny’s kitchen cupboard. She also sends little packages every now and then with some lollies or stickers or books.  The kids just get SO excited when post arrives and its for THEM not me.

Last week she sent them a book called ‘The 7 habits of happy kids’.  I had never heard of it before and was intrigued, so I read it from cover to cover first before I read it to the kids.  I was absolutely blown away by it and I think that EVERYONE who has kids should read it.  I even made Mr D read it too.  

It’s written by the son of Stephen Covey who wrote the very popular book ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ (which, if you’ve not already read, you should!).  The kids book is taking those 7 habits and making the relatable to children.  

The book is beautifully illustrated and there are 7 cute little animal characters.  Each one has a totally different personality which makes it really easy for kids to relate to at least one of them.  Master J is just like Jumper the rabbit, who loves to play sports and collect baseball caps and sneakers.  While Miss H is much more like Lily skunk who is a lot quieter and loves to colour in.  She also has a very annoying big brother (who she loves).  Sammy squirrel loves to fix things and tinker about, Goob the bear loves collecting bugs and going on outdoor adventures.  Sophie squirrel loves to read, read, read and of course there is also Pokey the porcupine who is so laid back and chilled-out, life could almost passes him by!!
There are 7 fantastic stories in the book and each one is based on one of the 7 habits.  I almost laughed out loud when I read them, as I could picture Master J doing every single one (the wrong way).  It was a real eye opener reading them with him and seeing how he processed the lessons.  It really made him think – especially the one about saving his pocket money.  He needed to have a plan of what he was saving for, rather than letting his money burn a whole in his pocket and ending up with pretty much nothing to show for it.

I love the fact that there is a parents corner at the end of each story with some questions that you can ask the kids to make sure they have fully understood the habit, and also some suggestions on how you can include the lesson in your everyday life.

Well that’s my two cents for International Book Week this week.  This really is a fantastic book for both kids and parents.

I hope you’re having a great week.  I’m on day two of a stinking cold and crossing my fingers for a healthy weekend ahead.

What’s been your favourite book for Book Week?