Connecting With Kids In A Disconnected World

By Trevor Romain

For the last thirty years, award-winning children’s book author Trevor Romain has been working with children from all walks of life. In the last decade alone, he has presented to over a million children across the globe. Connecting With Kids In A Disconnected World is the culmination of Trevor’s life-long work and his

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Trevor Romain Company
• Release date: Apr 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780578491929

Trevor Romain

TREVOR ROMAIN is a best-selling and award-winning author, illustrator, and motivational speaker who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and now lives in Austin, Texas. He was the host of a popular television series that has been featured on a number of PBS stations across the United States. Trevor has written over fifty books which have sold more than a million copies worldwide and been published in 22 different languages. For more than 30 years, he has traveled to schools, hospitals, military bases, refugee camps, and orphanages all over the world, delivering stand-up comedy with inspirational self-help messages to over a million children. He was the president of the American Childhood Cancer Organization and is well known for his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the UN, UNICEF, and the USO. Trevor is the co-founder of the Comfort Crew for Military Kids, co-founder of the Trevor Romain Company, and co-owner of Comical Sense.

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Connecting with Kids

in a Disconnected World

Trevor Romain

The truth is, rarely can a response

make something better ­— what makes

something better is a connection.

—Brené Brown

INTRODUCTION

I am not a parent of biological children, but I have been a stepdad, a substitute dad, a reserve dad, a fill-in dad, and the proud father of an imaginary child.

I have not nurtured kids of my own, but I have worked with terminally ill kids, refugee kids, foster kids, military kids, traumatized kids, at-risk kids, struggling cartoon kids, and orphans.

Over the last twenty-five years, I have seen over forty kids through end of life, worked with former child soldiers in Central Africa, volunteered at orphanages, and worked with US military kids who are constantly on the move and whose parents are struggling with PTSD, have committed suicide, or are deployed.

Over the years, I have learned to connect with kids even under the most trying circumstances. This book is a collection of my journal entries, observations, anecdotes, sketches, screwups, poignant memories, life-changing moments, and the tough lessons I have learned while working with kids.

HOW CHILDREN WITH CANCER TAUGHT ME HOW TO CONNECT WITH KIDS

I have been asked many times over the years if there was an initial aha moment that sparked my connection with kids.

The answer is yes. There were actually a few situations, but one stands out in particular.

It happened many years ago after I wrote and illustrated a children’s book called The Keeper of the Dreams. It was a picture book about a little girl who loses her dreams and has to face her biggest fear, the Bogey Man, to get them back.

I decided that I wanted to donate the book to a charity, so I offered it to a number of local non-profits in Austin where I live, but nobody was really interested in the project.

A few months later, I presented the book to a non-profit for kids with cancer called the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, now named the American Childhood Cancer Organization.

With the help of supporters, the book was published, and we were able to raise a decent sum of money for the organization.

A few months later, one of the board members of the organization said to me, You wrote a book to help kids with cancer, but have you ever met one?

I shook my head.

Well, she said, I think it’s about time."

I agreed, and she organized a book reading in the oncology wing at our local children’s hospital.

I must admit, I was extremely nervous when I walked into the hospital. I was taken upstairs to a small playroom, and inside, waiting for me, were about sixteen kids of various ages. All of them were dressed in hospital gowns, bald from chemotherapy, and attached to IV poles.

I felt so uneasy and sorry for those kids that I wanted to run out of the place. The only thing to do was to read the book to them immediately. I introduced myself and began reading.

The kids listened with rapture.

After the story was over, I closed the book and smiled. A little girl of six suddenly put up her hand.

Can you read it again? she asked earnestly.

Sure, I replied and read the book again.

Well, it turns out that I read the book at least five times that day because, every time I thought I was done, another kid would ask me to read it again.

Reading the book connected me to the kids in an indescribable way, and I stayed to chat and joke with them for a couple of hours.

As I was leaving, a little boy named Alex put up his hand and said, Are you coming back tomorrow?

For some reason, without hesitation, I said, Yes.

I went back for over twenty years. They called me the Doctor of Mischief and even gave me a lab coat with my name embroidered on it.

I still visit kids in hospitals across the world when I get the chance.

Kids with cancer have taught me the value of life, the importance of living in the