A LIMERICK mother of two, with a master’s degree in criminology, is hoping that her first book will steal audience’s hearts on the Late Late Toy show.
But before you ask why a thriller should make it on the Toy Show, this is no ‘whodunit’ – it’s a fun mindfulness book for children.
26-year-old Emma Cullinane from Abbeyfeale was delighted that her first book, ‘My Superpower is Being Me’ made it into print.
Further to that, she told the Limerick Post she got a call to say it’ is under consideration for inclusion on the Toy Show.
“It would be just fantastic if it was featured on the show. I put all my savings into the publishing, I think it’s a book that has a lot for children and parents. It’s designed to be great fun as well.”
Currently, 2,000 copies of her book are “all in boxes on her kitchen”.
“When you hear about someone who built a business at their kitchen table, that’s me,” she quips.
Emma says that her experiences of being a mother were her inspiration for the mindfulness activity book, explaining that she wanted to create something that children and parents could relate that was fun, rather than a lecture.
“In a world that is evermore interconnected, my book allows children to embrace their inner calm and build their resilience. We are our children’s first teachers,” she said.
With the words “thank you for teaching me unconditional love”, the book is dedicated to her sons, Kallum (6) and Theo (1).
Emma also has an Instagram account (senseofwonder_mindfulness) where she offers free suggestions for activities that parents and children can do together, along with tools to help kids cope with the growing pressures they face as small people in a big world.
These include meditations for kids, a ‘gratitude journal’ for children, and she is currently working on a Christmas activity calendar.
“Each day will have a card and there will be something written on the card – such as ‘you are loved,” said Emma. “There are exercises with each card theme. With the ‘loved’ card, children are asked to show love to a friend or write a love-you note to their parents.”
“Everything comes from the things I do with my own children,” she adds.
As a project worker with Focus Ireland, Emma sees the day-to-day struggles families and children face with poverty, addiction, homelessness, and more.
The supermum says that being dyslexic has never stopped her, and she believes children can forge ahead with the right supports.
She says that one quote in particular by Frederick Douglass helps inspire her in her writing and work: “It is easier to raise strong children than repair broken adults.”
“I worked with a lot of young people and a lot of children that have been through a lot of mental health issues, trauma from childhood, dealing with hidden harm, addiction and so on.”
“When I came across that quote it just reminded me how innocent children are and why raising them strong gives them the capabilities and the tools to be able to manage their emotions and learn to be present in the moment, all things that none of us were taught as children that would have really helped us in life”.
“I developed the book because I felt children are the future and why not support our children the best we possibly can”.
The book, with illustrations by graphic artist Kathryn McGaughey, is soon to be available in bookstores in Abbeyfeale and Limerick and is currently available through Emma’s Instagram page.
