RISING GENERATION SOLUTIONS, LLC
Week 8 Story
Note to parents: These weekly stories are intended to be an additional resource as we work together to support the development of your child. These stories will align with the “theme of the week” for our upcoming class. In Week 8, our theme will be “How to talk so adults understand”. The purpose of this theme is to help children feel more confident in their ability to communicate with their parents.
How to use these stories: When your child joined Legacy Kids, they were given a “stuffy”. These weekly stories will feature their “stuffy”. Encourage your child to have their stuffy with them while you read the story together and discuss the questions below. This process of externalizing the story to someone else (their stuffy) can be helpful as they internalize the principles discussed. Whenever you see "[stuffy]" in the story simply insert the name of your child's stuffy.
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Week 8 Story:
[Stuffy] Learns How to Talk so Parents Will Listen
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Once upon a time there was a stuffy named [Stuffy]. [Stuffy] had a BIG problem and wanted to talk to somebody about it. [Stuffy] had just taken an important test at school and it didn't go very well. [Stuffy] was feeling embarrassed and felt like there was a big storm inside. [Stuffy] thought to [himself/herself], "I bet I could talk to Mom about this". So [Stuffy] ran home after school to talk to [his/her] Mom.
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When [Stuffy] got home, [he/she] saw that Mom was on the phone. [Stuffy] really wanted to talk to her and so [he/she] went up to [his/her] Mom and started tugging on her arms.
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"Just a minute [Stuffy], I'm talking to someone on the phone", [Stuffy's] Mom said in a quiet voice.
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[Stuffy] understood what his Mom had said but [he/she] really wanted to talk to her right now. He started tugging at her arm again and said, "Mom, can you be done with the phone?".
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"Almost [Stuffy], I need to finish this conversation", Mom said with a finger up to her lips.
[Stuffy] felt like [his/her] Mom didn't care about what [he/she] was going to say. [Stuffy] felt the anger come all at once and shouted, "Fine, then I won't tell you anything!". With a tear coming down [his/her] face, [Stuffy] ran to [his/her] room and slammed the door behind [him/her]. [Stuffy] threw [himself/herself] on the bed and started to cry.
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A minute later, [Stuffy] heard a knock at [his/her] bedroom door and then [he/she] heard his Mom say," [Stuffy], may I come in?".
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[Stuffy], still feeling a little upset, said, "Okay".
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[Stuffy's] Mom came into the room and sat on the bed near [Stuffy's] feet. [His/her] Mom put a hand on [Stuffy's] back and started to give a little back scratch. "[Stuffy], it seems like you really wanted to tell me something while I was on the phone. Would you still like to tell me?".
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"Maybe", said [Stuffy]. [Stuffy] was still feeling a little upset and wasn't sure if [he/she] was ready to talk to [his/her] Mom about what had happened at school that day.
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[Stuffy's] Mom waited a moment and then said, "Well, I hope you know I always love to hear what you are thinking and feeling".
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[Stuffy] said, "Then how come you wouldn't stop talking on the phone?".
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[Stuffy's] Mom thought about it for a second and said, "that must have been hard to not have my attention as soon as you wanted it. I wasn't trying to ignore you. Sometimes adults have to finish something before they can give you their 100% attention. But I'm here now and ready to hear what you wanted to say. Would you be willing to tell me about it?"
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"Yes", [Stuffy] replied, "and I'm sorry I yelled at you".
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"Thank you for saying that", replied [Stuffy's] Mom, "I actually have an idea that I think might help us in the future. Would you like to hear it?".
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"Sure!", [Stuffy] replied. [Stuffy] always loved his Mom's ideas.
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"I think we could make something that we can call "Talking Tickets". You could use these "Talking Tickets" if it ever looks like I'm busy but you would still like to talk to me. These tickets would be small pieces of paper where on the front you would write your name and on the back you could write something really simple that tells me what you want to talk about. Does that sound like something we could try?".
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"Yes!", [Stuffy] thought this could actually be a really fun way to start a conversation.
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[Stuffy's] Mom left the room for a minute and came back with a small pile of "Talking Tickets" and said, "okay [Stuffy], these are for you and you can use them whenever you need to".
"Cool!", [Stuffy] replied, "Can I do one now?".
"Absolutely", [Stuffy's] Mom said with a smile.
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[Stuffy] wrote [his/her] name on the front of the ticket, turned it over and wrote, "I need to talk about school". [Stuffy] then handed the ticket to his Mom. She looked at it and said, "Thank you for wanting to talk with me [Stuffy]! You have my 100% attention and I'm ready to listen".
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Discussion Questions
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Why do you think [Stuffy] felt so upset when his Mom wasn't able to get off the phone?
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[Stuffy] and his Mom came up with the idea of having "Talking Tickets". What are some ideas that could help you and your parents make sure you are able to have good conversations?