Child Of Our Time

‘IF it’s not provocative dolls sexualising playtime, it’s the pre-teen’s Jimmy Choo junior’s and the young girl’s addiction to alcopops making her old before her time.

But with the ardent desire to be all grown up comes stress. Stress is so very grown up. But it doesn’t just affect the man worried about his failing business, or the mum trying to raise two children on benefits. It affects the children too.

But now there’s an alternative to sending little Armani to a psychiatrist to shrink her head or a hypnotherapist to wean her off the fags and pills. As the Telegraph reports, there’s a new self-help book for the pre-teens.

Called Help, Hope and Happiness, the book is the work of Libby Rees, a ten-year-old girl who in learning to cope with her parents’ divorce put her thoughts down on paper.

As mother Kathyrn Loughnan explains: “We had been out for a walk in the forest and she was just saying that every time she threw a stick for the dog she was throwing something away that irritated her.”

Such profound thoughts in one so young. Wonderful indeed that ideas and musings more routinely associated with day-time TV confessionals should surface in Libby.

But while TV executives race to sign up Libby as a kind of Vanessa Feltz for the Bratz generation, the Times give its readers a sneak preview of Libby’s bon mots.

Libby’s top tips to beat the blues include: “Enjoy a favourite film or book. This will give you some valuable time off from worrying.

“Try looking in the mirror, first thing in the morning and say out loud to yourself ‘I am better and better every day!’ five times.” Singing into you hairbrush as you dance to a pop song is soooo last year.

And let it all out. “Scream, shout, stamp your feet, whatever you feel like doing. This physical activity will help you release all the anger inside.” And in so doing both enlighten and thrill the other shoppers in the supermarket.

And if you want to feel really great, rehash all that pyschobabble usually aimed at adults into a book for kids. And then have a really good cry…’

Posted: 13th, December 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink