The Secret Formula is meant for an adult to read with an important child in their life. It is meant to be read with, not read to. The Secret Formula is a tool to teach social, emotional, and resilience skills to all kids. It is a combination of mindfulness and positive thinking strategies that they could use for the rest of their lives to improve their life and the lives of those that they come into contact with.The Secret Formula helps students to recognize those their feelings are a part of being human and that they can choose to be happy by changing their minds and practicing awareness in the present moment.

The Secret Formula explores the brain, body and mind influence and how it impacts our daily lives. The book is composed of activities for kids, but it is also meant for adults to learn as much as they can about that important pre-teen in their life. It is estimated that we have up to 50,000 thoughts a day and 70-80% of them are negative. The Secret Formula teaches young people the skills to manage their thoughts, own their actions and behaviors and to acknowledge their feelings as they communicate with others in a positive and productive way.

The Secret Formula is something that I used to teach to kids when I was an Elementary School Counselor in the mid-80’s. However, the activities really materialized during my years as a middle school counselor. Depression in kids is up 70% in the last 25 years, and we have a number of kids on various medications without any social skills instruction. The Secret Formula teaches kids to choose to be happy, to express themselves in an assertive manner and make better decisions.

The Secret Formula is full of activities that will help kids to feel better, and to recognize that their feelings such as anger, worry, and sadness are fear based and have negative consequences and outcomes. They can choose instead to Stop, Pause, Think and Go and focus on love based emotions that have more positive consequences and that are healthier for them.

There is a big push right now in education to teach kids social-emotional learning. The core SEL competencies include Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Relationship skills and Responsible decision-making. The Secret Formula touches on these areas in a short, easy to read format that is full of research-based activities. The Secret Formula was written in a way for kids and adults to learn complex ideas in a simplified manner, making the information in my book available to everyone. Parents or adults who want to help kids are going to want to read this book to help a significant child in their life.

All kids need love, discipline, and guidance. Kids need and thrive on encouragement (we all do) and to know that they have someone that they can connect with and who can help them navigate the challenging pre-teen years, and change their negative fear based thinking to positive thinking instead. I went to a conference this past week and they talked about the Adverse Childhood Experiences and the trauma that students are being exposed to these days, and they said, there are 3 things that will help kids significantly. They were exercise, mindfulness techniques and a supportive and caring adult. Bingo! The Secret Formula touches on these three areas and more.