MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — A-Rod, Christie Brinkley and Britney Spears’ kids aren’t the only ones whose lives have been uprooted due to their parents’ divorce. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, every year over one million children will suffer the effects of their parents’ divorce or separation. “Tools such as the book You and Me Make Three, and B.B., a cuddly teddy bear that goes back and forth to mom and dad’s, might be just what their kids need to help them cope,” says Gwendy Mangiamele, co-creator of B.B. the Bear, and co-author of You and Me Make Three (ISBN: 978-0-9798088-0-7), which help young children cope with divorce and separation.
“You and Me Make Three” is published by EDCO Publishing based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and B.B. the Bear is manufactured by Build-A-Bear-Workshop(R).
“Frankly, many divorcing parents don’t handle the situation correctly and, sadly, act selfishly. The innocent bystanders, their children, suffer the consequences, which last long after the divorce,” says Mangiamele.
“Parents need to be more responsible in how they comport themselves during this tumultuous time. From breaking this devastating news to their children, to not badmouthing the ex in front of the children, to simply allowing the child to love the other parent. And ‘shame on Christie’ for making her children go through the public display of their father’s humiliation. This may have made her feel vindicated but surely their children will be impacted forever.”
“Although many think divorce is not a big deal anymore because it is so common and socially acceptable, The National Child Development Study found otherwise: Children from disrupted families tend to do less well in school and subsequent careers than their peers. They are also more likely to experience the break-up of their own partnerships.”
Mangiamele adds, “We’re on a mission – a crusade – to help these children and what better place to reach them than in schools? We have B.B. Books and Bears in schools in 26 states and are targeting all 50 states at our next launch, benefiting Care House and Oakland County Schools on September 19, 2008 at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan.”
Persons interested in donating to a school, teacher, or counselor can go to http://www.bbseries.com.
