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Children Youth and Family

Our Interview with Suzy Marta founder of Rainbows

April 9, 2009 by Melissa · Leave a Comment 

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staffsuzyOn today’s show we had Suzy Yahl Marta The Founder and President  of Rainbows a wonderful organization that helps chidren with grief and loss through situations like divorce, death, family member deployed, in prison, or other painful seperations. This was a wonderful interview, Suzy was very relaxed and very easy to speak to and so informative. Suzy explained how after her own painful divorce and not finding good resources to help her children through this difficult time she began working with other concerned parents. Before she knew she was organizing weekend retreats for both single parents and the children involved to help them deal during this difficult time in their lives.

Soon Suzy began working on a formal curriculum which soon became the foundation for Rainbows. In our interview today we asked Suzy what are some of the signs or symptoms that a parent should look for in a child that says maybe you should seek some assitance for your child. Some of the symptoms she mentioned were if your child started to fail in school or have problems with other students. Another sign is. Suzy also explained that Rainbows is a FREE Non for Profit organization with locations all over the United States to see if there is a location near you please visit Suzy’s site Rainbows to see if there is an organiztion near you.  Also they just recently launched their online store where you will find training materials to help you and your family deal. Inside their store you are going to find material for kids starting from three years and up through adult hood. Also inside the store you will find a copy of Suzy’s book titled “Healing the Hurt, Restoring the Hope” which you can order for your family.

newbookcoverOne of the subjects we touched on was divorce and how this is on the rise we speculate due to the hard times and the economy. We asked Suzy what are some tips she could care for our listeners who may be contemplating divorce or whom are getting a divorce and how they can tell this to their children. First and foremost Suzy said tell your children as soon as you know , they are very smart and are probably already feeling the tension in the household, do not wait until the spouse moves out or until your sign the divorce papers. Remember not only does this affect you and your spouse but also your children and they should be included in the discussion.  Also she mentioned to please be sure whatever you do, doing not talk poorly about your spouse in front of your children it will only hurt them and serves no purpose. A great tip Suzy shared was when she was going through her own divorce each night she would sit down with her kids, and ask how their day was, and also ask them how they were dealing with the divorce on that day. Not only did it open the dialogue for discussion but also allowed them a safe enviroment to share their thoughts and feelings with Suzy, she explained she continued this process until they were in college not only talking about divorce but also what was going in their lives and theirdaiily lives.
Suzy also informed us that they are in the process of translating all of the training materials into Spanish to help reach a broader audience and to provide their services to them as well. Also starting in May they will be able to start training volunteers online to start bringing Rainbows to their community, if you are interested in learning more about how you can volunteer for this great organization please visit their website and contact for further information.  Please be sure to stop by and listen to our show, to hear our full interview with Suzy and also please remember Rainbows offers their services for free, so if you would like to donate to this wonderful cause you will find on their front page many avenues to do so.

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Children Youth and Family

You Are Your Child’s Best Advocate

March 14, 2009 by Lanae · Leave a Comment 

YOU are your child’s best Advocate…until they become their own
One of the hardest things for many kids to learn, is how to be an advocate for themselves. Heck, many parents aren’t comfortable being the child’s first and strongest advocate. But you HAVE to!
Just as with picking your battles with your children, you must do so when being your child’s advocate. One of the most important areas is school. If at anytime you feel something is not “right”, or if your child complains to you to the point that you know it really bothers them, speak up.
Discuss the issue first with your child. A valuable tip is to not always assume your child is telling you the whole story. Yes, we all want to think our children are perfect. Reality check…they’re not ;-) Ask lots of questions. Give ideas of why the situation is what it is.
If you still feel something isn’t right, contact the appropriate person at the school. Remember to be polite, but firm. Let them know you may not have all the facts but you want to know all the facts so the situation can get resolved.
Stay on top of it until it is resolved, and always thank the school official(s) who helped get it resolved. Be a good example to your children on staying calm, achieving good communication with them and the school, and following thru. Over time they will take on these responsibilities themselves. Yes, you may need to intervene, or support them, but that’s ok :-)
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