OTTAWA, Ohio (WLIO) — The Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Central Ohio is helping adults learn tools to support children’s emotional health during Mental Health Awareness Month.
The organization invited Melissa Schroeder to share her journey in creating the “Princess Patty and Prince Patrick” book series, which is designed to help children explore and regulate their emotions.
Schroeder said the idea for the series came after working with a young girl who struggled with emotional regulation. She created the books to introduce children and caregivers to Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as tapping.
“Well, I think there's always a huge mental health component when, when you're talking about anyone or littles or any child that has any sort of trauma or emotional regulation needs, and social emotional learning is a skill that everybody needs to be a successful adult. So, it's really important to know what those are, what those skills are, and how to teach them to any child,” says Melissa Schroeder, Author of Princess Patty & Prince Patrick.
Schroeder, a former Big Sister mentor, said her former Little Sister helped bring the books to life through illustrations.
“So, I wrote this book with my little, so she - we were matched when she was in second grade, and she's now graduated high school, and we stayed in contact, and she did all the illustrating for my book, so you know, definitely keep those relationships, keep those contacts, because you never know what you might be able to do with them,” adds Schroeder.
Those interested in learning more about the Princess Patty and Prince Patrick book series can visit Schroeder’s website or Facebook page.
