GRAND Magazine - May/June 2011 - (Page 12)

Rational grandkids? Yes! Rational Thinking BY JOHN C. YURICK A John with granddaughter Kathryn John Yurick, Ph.D., is a marriage and family therapist in Florida, author, and grandfather of two. Six steps for teaching them sense of humor and flexibility in attitude and behaviors are signs of good mental health and can be developed in youngsters from the age of 1 year on up. Rational Emotive Behav- ioral Therapy, the psychological theory in which I was trained, stresses the importance of thinking and reasoning, and how that causes a person to feel and/or behave. Here are six steps of many that I use with my granddaughters, Jane, 11; and Kathryn, 6: 1. Practice Rational Thinking yourself. For the first year and a half of each granddaughter’s life, they 12 GRAND MAY JUNE 2011 totally ignored me. Luckily, I can handle rejection, so I left my ego out of it, and felt confident that sooner or later they would discover the joys of being around me. Sure enough, it happened. 2. Columbo before Rambo. Whether it’s about praising or correcting. I’ve always recommended the low-key Columbo photo: ©iStockphoto.com/Armation74 http://www.rebtnetwork.org/ http://www.rebtnetwork.org/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - May/June 2011

GRAND - May/June 2011
Grand Treasure Hunt
Table of Contents
Grand View
Grand Central
Rational Grandkids? Yes!
Bragging Rights
Cover Story: A Force For Good
Charlie & Gaytha Hillman: Grand Entrepreneurs
Improving Medicare
Grand Products
Growing Old vs. Growing Up
Too Old For Sex?
Kids as Caregivers
My Way or the Highway
Kinship Care
Find Fun Things To Do
Straight Talk on Disabilities
Look for the Moon in the Morning
Toys ’n Tech
Grand Finale
Op-Ed: Is Sex Forever?

GRAND Magazine - May/June 2011