Help wanted: "Internet Marketing Associate"
Job: advertising/promotion of non-fiction e-book.
Requirements: Person familiar with sharing of information on social network sites such as My Space and Facebook. Able to search Internet for other appropriate sites as described below. Experience with Internet marketing would be a plus.
Job description
Will create and put into action a sales campaign for my parenting e-book, Stressed Family, Strong Family: Coping with Problems, Building Resilience, Handling Crises.
Book is aimed at parents in average family, Teachers and counselors are another possible marketing target. Book may also be of interest to youth from about 16 on who are not parents themselves.
Marketing Associate will identify social network sites, blogs, sites on parenthood, etc. where author could post articles, responses to other posts, or could initiate a thread. Marketing Associate will write copy for some sites and posts, identifying self by name. I will also write copy as needed.
Tools available:
Websites: www.StressedFamily.com
http://help-me-cope.com/
The e-book is listed on Ebookmall.com (3 formats)
http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/277863-ebook.htm
and Amazon Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KYEQ50
Search engine position:
Comes up near or at top of search engine list if searched by title; comes up #2 & #3 if search "stressed family"
Other information
Frequent communication with author, William R. Taylor, M.D. retired child and family psychiatrist.
I need to sign off on all promotional copy as to accuracy.
Copyright will remain with me.
Budget: There will be no budget other than the monthly rental for the websites, which I pay.
Pay
Marketing Associate will receive a generous percent of all royalties from sales of Stressed Family, Strong Family. Will receive monthly reports of sales to document success. Share in royalties will continue for a period (to be negotiated) after end of Marketing Associate's active participation, under assumption that continued sales reflect Marketing Associate's work. Position is that of a consultant and provides no other salary or benefits. No tax will be withheld.
Interested persons contact wrbftaylor1@comcast.net. Send pertinent information about experience and availability. This could be a summer project for a student.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Family Coping Under Stress, Part 1
Today's Topic: The Civitan List
This list of resilient traits of children and adolescents helps parents strengthen their kids' coping abilities. No matter what country they live in, no matter whether the family is rich, middle income, or poor, a parent can support these traits and prepare kids for the challenges ahead.
Teachers also will find these abilities fit well with the goals of any classroom.
Background of the Civitan List
The Civitan International Research Center at the University of Alabama asked parents and older kids in thirty countries:
What do kids need in order to cope with stress and hardship?
The group then put together the answers they got from fourteen of those countries: Lithuania, Russia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, Hungary, Taiwan, Namibia, Sudan, Canada, South Africa, and Japan.
What's useful in this study? The list is short, the ideas are clear. The concepts come from a wide range of counties.
The group reports their ideas this way. A child or teen who's coping well should be able to say the things in the lists below (I've adapted some items and added a few):
What a Resilient Child Ought to be Able to Say
I HAVE (repeat the words I HAVE at the start of each item)
* People around me I trust. They love me, no matter what.
* People who set limits (make rules) for me so I know when to stop before there is danger or trouble
* People who show me how to do things right, by the way they do things
* People who want me to learn to do things on my own
* People who help me when I am sick, in danger or need to learn. (Kids need to be protected by health, education, welfare, and legal services.)
I added these next items. Professor Edith Grotberg, leader of the study, mentions similar additional items to these:
I HAVE
* Been lucky and not had many bad things happen to me, or
* Or I HAVE gotten stronger by going through bad times
* A faith that helps me go through bad times and still feel OK
Grotberg writes: "The child feels a sense of right and wrong, believes right will win, and wants to contribute to this. The child has confidence and faith in morality and goodness, and may express this as a belief in God or higher spiritual being."
Why Do These Things Matter?
These I HAVE items describe kids who live with caring, firm, adults. The adults teach independence but don't leave kids too much on their own. The adults teach kids right from wrong. They praise and thank them for doing the right thing. When kids break a rule, the punishment is fair and not harmful. Parents or teachers don't beat the kids, call them bad names, or swear at them. No one else is allowed to harm the child. (Studies in many cultures show that praise works better for most kids than punishment.)
Here is the next section of the Civitan lists:
What a Resilient Child Ought to be Able to Say (continued)
I AM
* A person people can like and love
* Glad to do nice things for others and show my concern
* Respectful of myself and others
* Willing to be responsible for what I do
* Sure things will be all right
These items cover self-esteem, the feeling that one is OK, worthy, and lovable. The list also reflects a hopeful outlook. The items describe a bond with the family and community.
What a Resilient Child Ought to be Able to Say (last section)
I CAN
* Talk to others about things that frighten me or bother me
* Find ways to solve problems that I face
* Control myself when I feel like doing something not right or dangerous
* Figure out when it is a good time to talk to someone or to take action
* Find someone to help me when I need it
I would add:
I CAN
* Gain support and strength from my religious faith, core beliefs, or spiritual values (in some families, these values may not stem from religious beliefs) Child wording: In bad times I CAN trust in God, or trust my beliefs
* Get relief from stress through various activities, hobbies, etc. Child wording: I CAN forget my troubles by doing things I enjoy (such as sports, art, music, hobbies)
These items describe youths who know themselves. They know that they can handle some troubles themselves. They know if they are active, impulsive, and risk-taking, or quiet, thoughtful, and cautious. They know when to ask for help and when to wait for a better time. For example, if the parent is tired or angry about something, the kid won't bother them just then.
Many kids don't reach this level until their late teens, if ever. Some of the adults in your life may still lack some of these "I CAN" abilities. You may need to improve some of those abilities in yourself!
Summary: What Do We Learn About a Child From the Civitan Lists?
I've said above that the I HAVE group reflects love, caring and support from a parent or another adult. Those parents let kids think for themselves if they can. The I HAVE items describe a supportive family, or other adults who take the place of family. To this section I added good luck and skill at coping when luck runs out. Sad to say, some kids and families have rotten luck. Nobody should have to face the disasters, illnesses, unfair treatment, and the other traumas that these families struggle to master--the events that appear in newspapers every day.
The second group, I AM, describes confidence, hope, and self-respect. The youth not only has a loving supportive parent, but also feels loved and worthy of that love. These kids are also helpful: most parents and teachers would all like their kids to say that they are: "glad to do nice things for others and show my concern."
The I CAN section outlines other strengths: to express and control feelings; solve problems; ask others for help.
What's Missing from These Lists?
None of the lists include courage and aggression in a crisis: for example, defending yourself, fighting for what you believe. Sometimes a youth needs fight their way to safety on their own. They may need to defend themselves when no one is there to help them. Those abilities would probably show up in a list made by men. I assume that most of the adults taking the Civitan survey were probably female.
One of the people directing the study wrote:
. . . each reader [should] take what he or she can from this Guide and adapt it to the people, the setting and the culture. [all] children should feel loved and lovable, should be respectful and responsible, and should know who they can approach in times of need. . . . [we] found that most parents and caregivers do not know about resilience or how to promote it in children. (Bold type added) Thus, too many adults [don't support] resilience, leaving countless children feeling helpless, sad and unloved.
Grotberg adds that they didn't talk to enough people in each country. If they had, they could write more about the differences between countries. She notes:
* Some cultures rely more on faith than on problem solving in facing adversity [and stress] * Some cultures are more concerned with punishment and guilt while others [promote] discipline and [making peace] * Some cultures expect children to be more dependent on others for help . . . rather than becoming . . . self-reliant * The parents in some countries maintain a close relationship with their children while others "cut off" their children at about age five. The resilient children manage this kind of rejection; non-resilient children withdraw, submit and are depressed
How Can You Support These Qualities?
I've copied all of the items into a table, which I'll publish in a later article. You'll find ideas on how to support these strengths in that table.
This completes the survey of the Civitan project. I have left out many of Professor Grotberg's other valuable comments. (You can read more at Prof. Grotberg's Article)
This summary is taken from my e-book, Stressed Family, Strong Family. For a Table of Contents of my book, see StressedFamily.com
To order the book, go to EBookMall EBookMall
Websites for kids under stress:
An Australian site, applicable to younger kids
Help for Younger Kids
Good for teens, from the American Psychological Association: Help for Teens
And here you will find dozens of short, helpful articles on a wide variety of child problems Facts For Families Facts for Families
This list of resilient traits of children and adolescents helps parents strengthen their kids' coping abilities. No matter what country they live in, no matter whether the family is rich, middle income, or poor, a parent can support these traits and prepare kids for the challenges ahead.
Teachers also will find these abilities fit well with the goals of any classroom.
Background of the Civitan List
The Civitan International Research Center at the University of Alabama asked parents and older kids in thirty countries:
What do kids need in order to cope with stress and hardship?
The group then put together the answers they got from fourteen of those countries: Lithuania, Russia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, Hungary, Taiwan, Namibia, Sudan, Canada, South Africa, and Japan.
What's useful in this study? The list is short, the ideas are clear. The concepts come from a wide range of counties.
The group reports their ideas this way. A child or teen who's coping well should be able to say the things in the lists below (I've adapted some items and added a few):
What a Resilient Child Ought to be Able to Say
I HAVE (repeat the words I HAVE at the start of each item)
* People around me I trust. They love me, no matter what.
* People who set limits (make rules) for me so I know when to stop before there is danger or trouble
* People who show me how to do things right, by the way they do things
* People who want me to learn to do things on my own
* People who help me when I am sick, in danger or need to learn. (Kids need to be protected by health, education, welfare, and legal services.)
I added these next items. Professor Edith Grotberg, leader of the study, mentions similar additional items to these:
I HAVE
* Been lucky and not had many bad things happen to me, or
* Or I HAVE gotten stronger by going through bad times
* A faith that helps me go through bad times and still feel OK
Grotberg writes: "The child feels a sense of right and wrong, believes right will win, and wants to contribute to this. The child has confidence and faith in morality and goodness, and may express this as a belief in God or higher spiritual being."
Why Do These Things Matter?
These I HAVE items describe kids who live with caring, firm, adults. The adults teach independence but don't leave kids too much on their own. The adults teach kids right from wrong. They praise and thank them for doing the right thing. When kids break a rule, the punishment is fair and not harmful. Parents or teachers don't beat the kids, call them bad names, or swear at them. No one else is allowed to harm the child. (Studies in many cultures show that praise works better for most kids than punishment.)
Here is the next section of the Civitan lists:
What a Resilient Child Ought to be Able to Say (continued)
I AM
* A person people can like and love
* Glad to do nice things for others and show my concern
* Respectful of myself and others
* Willing to be responsible for what I do
* Sure things will be all right
These items cover self-esteem, the feeling that one is OK, worthy, and lovable. The list also reflects a hopeful outlook. The items describe a bond with the family and community.
What a Resilient Child Ought to be Able to Say (last section)
I CAN
* Talk to others about things that frighten me or bother me
* Find ways to solve problems that I face
* Control myself when I feel like doing something not right or dangerous
* Figure out when it is a good time to talk to someone or to take action
* Find someone to help me when I need it
I would add:
I CAN
* Gain support and strength from my religious faith, core beliefs, or spiritual values (in some families, these values may not stem from religious beliefs) Child wording: In bad times I CAN trust in God, or trust my beliefs
* Get relief from stress through various activities, hobbies, etc. Child wording: I CAN forget my troubles by doing things I enjoy (such as sports, art, music, hobbies)
These items describe youths who know themselves. They know that they can handle some troubles themselves. They know if they are active, impulsive, and risk-taking, or quiet, thoughtful, and cautious. They know when to ask for help and when to wait for a better time. For example, if the parent is tired or angry about something, the kid won't bother them just then.
Many kids don't reach this level until their late teens, if ever. Some of the adults in your life may still lack some of these "I CAN" abilities. You may need to improve some of those abilities in yourself!
Summary: What Do We Learn About a Child From the Civitan Lists?
I've said above that the I HAVE group reflects love, caring and support from a parent or another adult. Those parents let kids think for themselves if they can. The I HAVE items describe a supportive family, or other adults who take the place of family. To this section I added good luck and skill at coping when luck runs out. Sad to say, some kids and families have rotten luck. Nobody should have to face the disasters, illnesses, unfair treatment, and the other traumas that these families struggle to master--the events that appear in newspapers every day.
The second group, I AM, describes confidence, hope, and self-respect. The youth not only has a loving supportive parent, but also feels loved and worthy of that love. These kids are also helpful: most parents and teachers would all like their kids to say that they are: "glad to do nice things for others and show my concern."
The I CAN section outlines other strengths: to express and control feelings; solve problems; ask others for help.
What's Missing from These Lists?
None of the lists include courage and aggression in a crisis: for example, defending yourself, fighting for what you believe. Sometimes a youth needs fight their way to safety on their own. They may need to defend themselves when no one is there to help them. Those abilities would probably show up in a list made by men. I assume that most of the adults taking the Civitan survey were probably female.
One of the people directing the study wrote:
. . . each reader [should] take what he or she can from this Guide and adapt it to the people, the setting and the culture. [all] children should feel loved and lovable, should be respectful and responsible, and should know who they can approach in times of need. . . . [we] found that most parents and caregivers do not know about resilience or how to promote it in children. (Bold type added) Thus, too many adults [don't support] resilience, leaving countless children feeling helpless, sad and unloved.
Grotberg adds that they didn't talk to enough people in each country. If they had, they could write more about the differences between countries. She notes:
* Some cultures rely more on faith than on problem solving in facing adversity [and stress] * Some cultures are more concerned with punishment and guilt while others [promote] discipline and [making peace] * Some cultures expect children to be more dependent on others for help . . . rather than becoming . . . self-reliant * The parents in some countries maintain a close relationship with their children while others "cut off" their children at about age five. The resilient children manage this kind of rejection; non-resilient children withdraw, submit and are depressed
How Can You Support These Qualities?
I've copied all of the items into a table, which I'll publish in a later article. You'll find ideas on how to support these strengths in that table.
This completes the survey of the Civitan project. I have left out many of Professor Grotberg's other valuable comments. (You can read more at Prof. Grotberg's Article)
This summary is taken from my e-book, Stressed Family, Strong Family. For a Table of Contents of my book, see StressedFamily.com
To order the book, go to EBookMall EBookMall
Websites for kids under stress:
An Australian site, applicable to younger kids
Help for Younger Kids
Good for teens, from the American Psychological Association: Help for Teens
And here you will find dozens of short, helpful articles on a wide variety of child problems Facts For Families Facts for Families
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Coming soon: posts on resilience, stress, economy in turmoil
I will be syndicating posts to this blog from Ideamarketers, starting later in October, 2008.
Friday, January 11, 2008
My quiz for youth, Help Me Cope!, is now up at http://www.help-me-cope.com/. You can download the quiz and a lot of additional information from the site.
The quiz is designed mainly for kids, teens, and young adults, though adults are welcome to fill out a copy if they wish.
The quiz is designed mainly for kids, teens, and young adults, though adults are welcome to fill out a copy if they wish.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Introduction to How People Cope
Resilience
In this blog, people can discuss ways of coping with stress. These coping methods have helped them feel less troubled by situations in their lives.
We call that ability to cope with stress “resilience.”
A New Quiz for Youth: “Help-Me-Cope.”
You will also find directions for downloading a copy of “Help-Me-Cope.” Help-Me-Cope is a quiz that enables youth to inform their parent or another trusted adult about things that would help that youth cope better with stress. The quiz ought to be available early in the new year.
Thanks for stopping by.
In this blog, people can discuss ways of coping with stress. These coping methods have helped them feel less troubled by situations in their lives.
We call that ability to cope with stress “resilience.”
A New Quiz for Youth: “Help-Me-Cope.”
You will also find directions for downloading a copy of “Help-Me-Cope.” Help-Me-Cope is a quiz that enables youth to inform their parent or another trusted adult about things that would help that youth cope better with stress. The quiz ought to be available early in the new year.
Thanks for stopping by.
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