Presenter
Bonnie J. Edwards
Author-Publisher
“Mama Said...,”
Second Edition
Carthage College
Kenosha, Wisconsin
July 26, 2016
Infant to infinity
Seasoned to struggling
Background
I am the proud daughter of George and Dorthel
Blessed wife and mother
I am a product of the Milwaukee Public Schools
Proudly served as a middle school teacher giving back to my
community
Retired 2015
Became a published writer of the second edition of Mama
Said...,”It’s the small victories that count!”
Motivated to make a difference in the way individuals
communicated
The story, Mama Said..., “It’s the small victories that count”
based on fiction promotes love, and kindness and is meant to
motivate and inspire individuals at all age levels
My name is Bonnie
•
Thank you to Dr. Janis Giblin and Jean Morack
•
My role (as writer) - inform, motivate, to inspire
•
Story format - Light-hearted Storybook (Teenager bonding w/mom and
learning from Mama’s pearls of wisdom about self-awareness
•
The first “pearl of wisdom” that will engage us is Dr. Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs (Expert in human behavior & motivation)
•
We know...Parents come in all types (season vs. struggling)
•
Dr. Maslow’s model, Hierarchy of Needs helps us to understand human
behavior. Specifically, how parents influence their children positively and
negatively.
•
Let’s review how Bonita’s mother supported her using Maslow as a
framework for dialog.
•
Even in 1968, Dr. Maslow was saying, “Mama got this right” on all five
levels
•
Focus: Understanding how communication can influence the
behaviors of parents, children, and school communities
A mother’s Influence
starts from birth
Dr. Maslow says, “Mama did this
right,” on all five levels.
When I think of my
mother...
A mother’s Influence
L
I
F
E
ove
nspiration
amily
verlasting
Self-actualized
(Become what you were born to do)
Esteem
(Liking and appreciating who you are)
Social
(Having capacity to love and being loved by others)
Safety and Security
Where and How does
Dr. Maslow Show Up
In
Mama Said...?”
Sense of feeling safe at home, in communities)
Physical
(Having food, shelter, clothing)
Bonita’s Story
Communication
Companion is the key
(1) Mama’s Pearl of Wisdom
Dr. Maslow’s
Hierarchy of
Needs
Physical Needs
When Bonita walks inside her home from
school.
Bonita greets her mother in the kitchen.
She experiences: food, shelter.
She experiences: safety and security at
home. Mom is present.
Safety,
Security
Needs
Bonita has one
on one time with
her
mother
She experiences: love, safety, security
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs
Social Needs
She experiences: love, belonging, selfesteem, confidence
Self-esteem Needs
Bonita’s interaction with her mother about her
homework.
She experiences: doubt, challenges her
self-esteem
Self-actualized
Bonita’s is transformed and arriving home
more self assured. She is confident, self
aware, learner and friend
the Good News!
Bonita’s Transformation
Sense of Being
Cool, calm, Confident
Communicator
Bonita’s Transformation: self-esteem, confidence, self-actualization
Bonita knew that the only way she could overcome her fears about
math was to face it with the love, help and support of Mama.
The Future of Children - Princeton-Brookings
Policy Brief Fall 2010
Strengthening Fragile Families
Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, Irwin Garnkel, Ronald B. Mincy, and Elisabeth Donahue
The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative survey
of births in large cities, has shown that unwed parents have a host of characteristics
that complicate getting good jobs, forming stable families, and performing
successfully as parents.
Solution?
We recommend policies to support single parents, to prevent unwed births, to reduce
the number of young men given long prison sentences, and to fund at least some
federal demonstration programs that provide marriage education and services to these
young couples.
The Fragile Families Study
Findings
Recognizing the need for such data, in the late
1990s researchers at Princeton and Columbia
universities organized the first large-scale study of
nonmarital childbearing and its consequences.
The researchers randomly sampled parents of
approximately 5,000 newborns (including 3,600
nonmarital births) in twenty of the nation’s largest
cities.
For the past decade, the research team has been
following the parents and children to learn more
about their capabilities and experiences.
Now the most important findings have been pulled
together in the new volume of the journal The
Future of Children.
The Future of Children
Strengthening Fragile Families
Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, Irwin Gar nkel, Ronald B. Mincy, and Elisabeth Donahue
Findings
A large majority of unwed parents have close and loving relationships at the time
of their child’s birth.
A little more than half the unmarried couples were living together when their
child was born.
Additional 32 percent were in dating relationships.
One-night stands these were not.
The couples talked readily about marriage, with 87 percent of the fathers and 72
percent of the mothers giving their relationship at least a 50/50 chance of leading to
marriage.
Second Finding
Strengthening Fragile Families
Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, Irwin Gar nkel, Ronald B. Mincy, and Elisabeth Donahue
Unwed parents have a host of demographic and human capital characteristics
that complicate getting good jobs, forming stable families, and performing
successfully as parents.
Unwed parents in the sample were much younger than the married parents—the
mothers almost six years younger, and the fathers, four.
Only about 4 percent of the married mothers, but 26 percent of the unwed
mothers, were teenagers.
And even though the unwed parents were younger than their married
counterparts, about three times as many had a previous birth with another
partner, leaving many of the children in these households to deal with a parent
figure (the mother’s new boyfriend or husband) inside their home and a
biological parent outside the home, an arrangement that can be stressful for all
involved.
Third finding
Strengthening Fragile Families
Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, Irwin Gar nkel, Ronald B. Mincy, and Elisabeth Donahue
Relatively few of the unwed couples were able to form stable relationships.
At five years after the birth of their child, only about 35 percent were still
together.
Breakups were less likely among couples in which fathers had higher earnings,
mothers had more education, attitudes about marriage were positive, and
relationship quality was good.
By year five, only 51 percent of the fathers involved in splits saw their child
even once a month. In effect, when couples break up, within five years half the
children are des- tined to have little contact with their father.
Final Finding
Strengthening Fragile Families
Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, Irwin Gar nkel, Ronald B. Mincy, and Elisabeth Donahue
•
Finally, and most important, these differences in demography, human capital,
health, and household stability are associated with negative developmental
outcomes for children born to unwed parents.
•
Relationship instability in particular is linked with both poor test performance
and behavioral problems in children, especially boys. With unstable and
increasingly complex home environments, and with children’s development
already moving off track by age five, it is difficult to be optimistic that most
of the children of unwed parents will grow into flourishing adults.
Next Step:
How Can Educators Help Students Use
The Mama Said..., Communication
Companion To Encourage and Inspire
Growth?
Mama Said...,
• (1,2,3,...)
• You get out of life
what you put into
life
• The Sky Is The
Limit!
• What is your
favorite Mama
Said...quote?
Cost
Book: $12.00
A great communication
Companion and Resource
A Mother’s Reach infant to infinity
seasoned to struggling