Return to Top of Page
Menu
  • Close
  • About Us
  • Contributors
  • Donate
  • Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Submissions
  • 20 Years
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search Website
Literary Mama
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Departments
  • Blog
  • Newsletter

January 11, 2011 | Blog |  No comments

For Your Journal: Writing Prompt

By Karna Converse

My seven-year-old asks if he can invite Max over for an after-school playdate. The two have been good friends since preschool so my answer is usually an easy “yes,” but this time, I encourage Geoffrey to think about another friend. He and Cole have been friends for several years too, but it’s been a while since they’ve played together outside the second-grade classroom.

“It’s ok, Mom,” he told me. “I’m just trying to even things out from preschool. Remember? That’s when Cole came over every week.”

I smile at his logic, then marvel at the thought behind it.

I don’t believe friendship involves a score card–and neither do my second-grade mom friends–but I’m surprised Geoffrey looked at the situation from another boy’s perspective.

Gwen Dewar, biological anthropologist and founder of ParentingScience.com, lists “empathy” as one of five skills parents can foster in their children that will help them make friends. (The other four skills parents can foster? Conversational skills, emotional self-control, willingness to compromise and offer help, willingness to take turns and follow rules.)

Journal Entry: Write about a time you watched your child “walk in another’s shoes.” Describe the situation, then speculate about what prompted your child to respond as he or she did. Or, if you talked about it afterwards: what reasoning did your child give for his or her response?

Tagged: Writing Prompt

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share This Page

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Copy Link

Recent Posts

  • Thank You Greta Gerwig September 26, 2023
  • My Daughter Watching Me Watching Barbie September 23, 2023
  • The Twists and Turns of Barbie September 19, 2023
  • Barbie in Japan September 17, 2023
  • There’s Something About Barbie September 13, 2023
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Instagram
  • RSS

© 2023 Literary Mama | Search Site | About Us | Staff | Submissions | Privacy Policy