Page 30 - Wanda Weasel

This is a comfortable arrangement for them but it fails to provide them with effective role models or opportunities for constructive guidance.
Much of the emphasis in the Coping Skills program is to have the children look at their belief system and objectively evaluate it. In those areas where their thinking is “Good,” they should maintain those beliefs. In those areas where their thinking is “Stinky,” they should challenge and change it.
You want to use this story to help the child understand that learning to be patient and persistent are necessary to succeed in much of life. These are not qualities that many of us are predisposed toward. In fact, children are naturally predisposed to the antithesis of these qualities and if they don’t change their thinking, they can be labeled as “immature” at best or given some psychiatric diagnosis at worst.
Wanda should be a character that many children will recognize, either in themselves or others. They will recognize how Wanda’s lack of patience and persistence cause her problems. Hopefully, they will have the insight to understand that we sometimes choose to associate with others only because they have the same type of Stinky Thinking and what trouble that can cause.
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