Princess Grianne and Dragon
Book Description
We've all got a 'dragon' or two lurking deep inside us. When we were babies, those 'dragons' were clearly visible. If we were uncomfortable or hungry, we got MAD. And we let everybody know how mad we were. In fact, we were downright enthusiastic about how mad we were. But most of us learned over time how to calm these 'dragons'. We learned to curb our enthusiasms and to find more reasona...
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We've all got a 'dragon' or two lurking deep inside us. When we were babies, those 'dragons' were clearly visible. If we were uncomfortable or hungry, we got MAD. And we let everybody know how mad we were. In fact, we were downright enthusiastic about how mad we were. But most of us learned over time how to calm these 'dragons'. We learned to curb our enthusiasms and to find more reasonable outlets for anger. And by the time we became parents, we looked forward to helping someone else learn how, too.
But sometimes a child comes to us whose 'dragons' are just too powerful. FAS/E (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Effect) and RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) are common diagnoses of such children. These are children who often feel alien in a hostile world. How do you give love to a child who feels unlovely? How do you teach kindness to one who feels hateful? Many behaviours exhibited by such children are common in all children, but their intensity, duration and relentless repetition are magnified to extremes.
Some families face these and similar problems daily. And they often do so alone. Parents and siblings suffer guilt, frustration, isolation and grief. The anger, violence and unrelenting ill-will in the child are heartbreaking for the parents, and often impossible for the outsider to believe.
Princess Grianne and Queen Mommy are real people. They struggle to control a particularly powerful 'dragon'. This wee book is my attempt to offer a little whimsy, a little laughter, to families like theirs. And to give the children a sense of fun and control through imagination. If it does this for just one soul in the Wide-Wide World, it will have served its purpose.
This is the first in a projected series of five stories of Grianne and her dragon. Grianne, who is now ten years old, helped to formulate the stories with me when she was between three and seven. Dragon, of course, reflects Grianne's real behaviours. Princess Grianne is the teacher, controller and mentor.
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