| During my corporate work life when my daughter was | | | | asked her how her day was. She said it was the |
| still a baby I met Hillary Clinton when she was making | | | | worst ever because of the incident at recess and then |
| her first bid to become the senator from New York. | | | | proceeded to describe what happened. The |
| As I walked down the hall with her I told her that, like | | | | hairdresser just nodded her head, made |
| her, I was the mother of an only child, a girl. Then I | | | | acknowledging sounds and went about trimming my |
| asked her what advice she could give me about | | | | daughter's hair. At the end of my daughter's story, the |
| raising a little girl. She told me to read her book "It | | | | hairdresser just said "That sounds like it was very |
| Takes a Village." | | | | upsetting" and my daughter said "it was, but I feel |
| I wasn't sure then how that could help me, but a recent | | | | better now." |
| incident with my daughter brought back that moment | | | | That's when I understood Hillary Clinton's remark. |
| with Hillary. | | | | Sometimes your child needs someone to talk to who |
| Last week my daughter got off the bus from school | | | | isn't you! Sometimes your child just needs to vent |
| upset. She was complaining about what happened at | | | | about things that happened that day without getting |
| recess that day (a fairly frequent occurrence). When I | | | | parental advice or strategies to work with if it happens |
| asked her if she wanted to talk about it, she said no. | | | | again. Sometimes they just need to talk. Maybe that's |
| I tried distracting her by reminding her that we were on | | | | why so many of them are in some sort of therapy at |
| our way to the hairdresser where she would get a | | | | a young age -- every time they tell us how they feel |
| haircut and some highlights in her hair. I thought the | | | | we give them solutions instead of just listening. |
| distraction worked, because she lost her sour mood | | | | The point of Hillary's book is that our children can |
| and got excited about the trip to the hairdresser. | | | | benefit from the whole community we are part of - |
| When we got there, she tried to do some homework, | | | | teachers, relatives, friends and even, occasionally the |
| but she still seemed to be fretting over something. It | | | | hairdresser. It not only provides your child someone to |
| could have been the adult conversation she was | | | | talk to who isn't you, but can also help the child see the |
| pretending not to be listening to, or just natural | | | | situation from another's perspective. |
| reluctance to do homework. I wasn't sure. | | | | Do you have a good friend who can listen to your child |
| It was finally her turn to have her hair trimmed and as | | | | once in awhile? Maybe even a hairdresser? |
| the cape was being put on the hairdresser casually | | | | |