How to Go to Visitation without Throwing Up
by Joshua Shane Evans
Category: Juvenile Nonfiction

'How To Go To Visitation Without Throwing Up' is an appropriate-sized advice/activities handbook written by a youngster for other kids, and can serve as a handy companion for those times a child has to prepare for a visit to his or her now-divorced parent. The book is chock full of simple, child-friendly advice--including everything from pep talks (it's not your fault if there's tension between your parents) to easy-to-play games to make that plane or train or bus trip less stressful. These include riddles, brain teasers, puzzles, and anagrams. But maybe more important are simple, yet helpful exercises for kids to identify their feelings, hopes, and perceptions about themselves, their families and their situations. These include sample letters to write to family, identifying family conflict that might make you upset and how to deal with them; advice on how to help your parents; clarifying values, etc. These are all written in child-friendly language and in an upbeat format. Unfortunately, kids today live in a complicated world with lots of adults vying for their love and attention, and they too often get caught in the middle. This little book can help children during those potentially stressful moments--perhaps best of all, it can make them understand they are not alone in their situation regardless of the fact that sometimes competing family agendas make them feel that way.The book has several different focuses which include: 1. Things that children wish their divorced parents would do and not do. 2. Things that children wish the other people in their lives would do and not do. 3. Affirmations to deal with fears about visitations and other scary subjects. 4. Advice on how to handle the trip with the most pleasure and least risk. 5. Lists to help organize for the trip. 6. Activities to do while traveling and during the visitation. 7. Solace that others have done this before and survived just fine. In that sense, this isn't a book designed to be read and memorized from beginning to end. It's more like a book to dip into selectively when one needs objective support. It might especially come in handy when a child cannot reach a parent by telephone to talk about her or his feelings.