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ScreamFree Living Newsletter
After the Flood
Thursday, September 1, 2005

Dear Parent,

This week's tragedy in the Gulf Coast has left us all reeling. Such devastation stirs up both questioning disbelief and yet, new motivations to help. So, in this newsletter we've included articles addressing both. Read Jenny's reflections on the struggle to survive with questions about just that, the struggle to survive. And then learn how to partner with ScreamFree to help those in need.

In This Issue:
  • Help for Katrina Victims
  • After the Flood
  • Ask Hal: A 4-Year-Old with Violent Thoughts

  • After the Flood

    by Jenny Runkel, Co-Founder, ScreamFree Living, Inc.

    After the flood, all the colors came out...
    Bono, U2, “Beautiful Day”

    As I write this, thousands of people in New Orleans and the surrounding areas are struggling to survive. Millions are wondering when they’ll even have a city to come home to. I watched the news last night in disbelief. The Superdome looks like a shell and the French Quarter is floating with debris. These are national landmarks and it shocks us as a country to see them changed by chance.

    The thing that struck me the most about the scene was not the floating cars or the hundreds of emergency vehicles waiting at the ready, though. It was one quick shot of a family stranded on their porch signaling to the media helicopter with a flashlight. The father was flashing an SOS signal with one hand and holding a child in the other. The water was up to their knees and was rising.

    These are people just like you and me. They own businesses and attend PTO meetings. They saved up for sofas and new cars. They cherish their photo albums and family heirlooms. Only they have just lost everything. Their homes are ruined, their water contaminated, and their “normal” has forever been changed all by one turn of a storm. One of these people is my brother Michael. He lives in Gulfport, Mississippi. He and his girlfriend and her baby evacuated in time, thank God, but their home is probably a pile of toothpicks this morning. He is 21 years old and is just getting his life together after a rough start. Now he has to start again.

    This could very well turn out to be the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. My husband told our family all about the happenings over dinner last night. As he talked about the rising water and the trapped people, I watched my six-year-old son’s lips tighten and his brow furrow.

    “But Daddy,” Brandon protested, “God said he’d never do that again! And he keeps his promises!”


    Ask Hal: A 4-Year-Old with Violent Thoughts

    In this section of our newsletter, we have Hal answer a direct question asked by one of our ScreamFree Parents. Today's question stems from one of our greatest fears: kids acting violently. With all the school shootings still etched in our memory (and still a real possibility), it makes sense that we would fret about our own child's violent thoughts.

    My 4 year old son told me about a very violent thought he had about his baby sister (7 weeks) today. I am so scared that I have caused him problems because I used to be a big screamer and I also spanked him. Please give advice; I'm afraid for my son and his sister. He has never hurt her but I never leave her alone around him.

    Well, that has to be scary. What I love about your story, though, is that your son came to you and told you about his thought. That is huge--I cannot overstate how significant. What that signals is that a) he is aware of himself and his thoughts; b) he doesn't like the negative thought about his little sister; and most importantly, c) he trusts you as a confidant and a life-guide, even with revelations that may incriminate himself.

    First of all, please know that negative, even violent feelings toward a tiny baby sister is very common for an older child. His sister represents both a wonderful addition to his life, and yet a vacuum for all the attention he used to enjoy.

    It is now up to you to embrace your role as that trusted guide, choosing to calm your own anxiety and continue to listen. The more he can open to you about such feelings, the less he feels compelled to act upon them. It sounds like the very best thing you can do is go out of your way to spend more alone time with him. Try not to have any agenda for that time except to delight in your son.

    I know that sounds difficult given his recent revelations, but it's always more important to keep the revelations coming than to react to their content.

    And remember to take care,
    Hal

    Do you have a Parenting question for Hal, the author and creator of ScreamFree Parenting? Contact Us Directly. We will answer a limited number of questions in upcoming newsletters.

    Please note that we cannot answer all questions, so we encourage you to present your questions or parenting issues in the ScreamFree Parenting Forum. Here you can interact with other parents on the ScreamFree Journey and share your questions and successes. Visit the ScreamFree Parenting Forum today and discuss parenting issues with parents all over the country.


    Help for Katrina Victims

    Join ScreamFree in Helping Those in Need

    Here at ScreamFree Living, our hearts and prayers go out for all of the victims of the Katrina disaster. It turns out this situation is putting strain not only on the affected area, but all over the southeast, as we have refugees from Mississippi, Alabama, and of course, Louisiana, seeking shelter, food, and work in locations like Houston, Atlanta (our home city) and other cities.

    We would like to partner with all of you, our newsletter subscribers, and donate* the price of our books, CDs and DVDs for the month of September. To make the logistics easier for the charities that need support, we would like you to donate directly to the charities below, with gifts directed toward relief efforts and refugee support. For any donation more than $50.00, we will return that right back to you in the form of any of our products**.

    Just make a donation to any of the following organizations:

    American Red Cross - provides direct disaster aid to the four states affected by the disaster.

    Traveler's Aid of Atlanta - supports the nearly 500 refugees who have come to Atlanta with their families.

    The Salvation Army - providing help to storm victims and first responders.

    St. Vincent DePaul Society - provides emergency shelter, food, and clothing for victims of the disaster, in the affected areas, as well as other southeastern cities where the refugees travel.

    Once you have made your donation, just forward copy and paste your donation email in our contact us page and we'll credit your account with a $50 bonus credit***, and take that off of any order you make in the month of September. Please mail from the same email address that you use when you purchase your ScreamFree products. If you have a paper receipt of your donation, you can fax it to 770-234- 5739, but include the email address you use when you ordered.

    The ScreamFree Parenting DVD, a $199 value, is now available on the web site at a pre-release discount of $79.00, so with your charity gift, you can get it for just $29.00

    Together, we can make a difference and help with this devastating challenge facing our country.

    Thanks for your support.

    *ScreamFree suggests that you donate directly to the charity. This way the charity will receive the benefit directly, and you can make a tax-deductible donation.
    **Charity Discount applies to a $50 minimum order of Books, CDs, Ebooks, and/or DVDs ordered directly from ScreamFree.com. Does not apply to coaching or any other products.
    ***Bonus Credit will not show up at order time. Send or fax your Charity donation receipts and we will send conformation of receipt, and credit your account with the $50.00 Credit.

    Visit our Katrina Info Page Here
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