Steve Curtis, Ph.D. is a child clinical and nationally certified school psychologist with over 25 years of experience working with children presenting with developmental, behavioral, and medical challenges. He has numerous professional publications and is author of Understanding Your Child’s Puzzling Behavior: A Guide for Parents of Children with Behavioral, Social, and Learning Challenges. This guide recently won the iParenting Media Award and has been featured on numerous television and national radio programs. Dr. Curtis recently appeared on CNN to discuss Helping Kids Cope: When the Economy Hits Home. For more information, go to Dr. Curtis’ blog at: www.lifespanpress.blogspot.com or to his professional website at: www.lifespanps.com.

Steve Curtis--

We are starting a new year. Many of us have hope that 2009 will be a lot brighter and more positive than 2008 which was dominated with news of the economic crisis and other matters. Even though we have barely started this year, we are already hearing more devastating news about the economy. We have a new war in Gaza. And select politicians are, once again, being caught engaging in unethical, possibly illegal, behavior. Many Americans are excitedly waiting for President-elect Obama to take office so that he can begin implementing his ideas to create change. I am one of these Americans. I am looking forward to new leadership since our country has had so much negativity over the past number of years.

I personally was fixated one night on the doom and gloom that we all have been facing in the economy. I went with my family to see Bedtime Stories with the idea that this movie would be "so so" since the reviews were not that terrific. I left the movie feeling energized and full of hope. Bedtime Stories is directed by Adam Shankman with Adam Sandler as the primary star. The movie is a family comedy about a hotel handyman whose life changes dramatically when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true. The main theme of the story is that with imagination, great things can happen. This movie inspired me because so many of us adults get caught in the daily minutia of life. We forget to dream and imagine the impossible. Children on the other hand love to dream and fantasize. I realized after the movie that imagination is a great activity in which to engage in these times of economic stress.

If you are experiencing family stress, go see this movie with your children. Then have your own children write the end of the story about how yours and their lives will turn out over time. Let me know what you think! Happy New Year!

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