| Like
so many projects, Wow! Me Too! is a labor of love, one that
grew out of our personal experiences. Here's the back story.
When Marcy
was in third grade, she sat across from a little girl named
Lynn. One day in late December, as Marcy watched Lynn working
at her desk, she found herself thinking, "I'm glad I'm
not her. She has no friends, she's real skinny and gawky, she
has frizzy hair and no one likes her." The next day, the
seat across from Marcy was empty. Mrs. Goelzer told the class
that Lynn had been killed in a car accident the night before.
She died on her way to buy Christmas presents for her classmates
with $8.72 cents in her purse. For the next 25 years, Marcy
was sure she had killed Lynn with her "evil" thoughts.
It was a secret she kept to herself until she was well into
her thirties, unable to imagine that anyone had ever felt the
way she did. When Bryn's son Colin was 7, Bryn had another baby.
Within a few months, Colin, a popular, energetic and carefree
second grader, became anxious and fearful every time his mom
prepared to leave the house. Bryn discovered that Colin was
so angry at her for having a new baby that he often wished she
would die. Then, like so many kids, he would worry that his
secret wish would come true. As he struggled with his anger
and anxiety, Colin began to feel like a "freak." "No
one else has ever felt the way I do," he cried.
That feeling
of isolation, the sense that "nobody feels the way I do,"
is as common as it is profound. Renowned child psychotherapist,
Dr. Violet Oaklander, told us that 90% of the children she sees
suffer from a sense of alienation and loneliness, in large part
because they believe that their feelings are unique and not
universal. This is as true for kids who are afraid of the dark
or of bad guys as it is for kids who think it is their fault
that their parents are getting a divorce.
As we talked
about our own experiences and spoke to other parents, child
psychologists and experts in children's programming, we found
that "average kids" . . . . particularly those aged
7 to 12 . . . . have virtually no formalized information or
programs to help them deal with their everyday feelings or discover
how common those feelings really are.
It is clear
that if kids feel ashamed, embarrassed and isolated by the simple
things, then talking about the tough subjects like drugs or
sex or violence becomes nearly impossible. Like most parents,
we want our kids to talk to us and we know it's important to
begin the dialogue early. And also like most parents, we don't
always know how to start the conversation. But if we don't talk
to our kids now, by the time they are teens it's too late.
Dr. Pablo
Davanzo, a psychiatrist at UCLA Medical Center, said he couldn't
agree more. Dr. Davanzo told us that many of the teens he treats
are enraged because they feel so alone with their fears. He
said many of these kids might have been helped if they had discovered
at a much earlier age that other kids often feel the way they
do.
Both Dr.
Davanzo and Dr. Oaklander agree that there is a huge need for
non-therapeutic, common sense information and programs for healthy
kids in happy family relationships. This kind of approach, they
told us, is not only important for kids but it's important for
all of us. That's because the more kids accept and understand
their own feelings, the more likely they are to be empathic
towards others. Empathy is not only a cornerstone of moral development
it is one of the most critical traits of a good leader. We think
all children can be leaders if given the chance.
The concept
for WM2, fun, entertaining and totally kid-oriented programs
and groups that tackle these everyday issues, has found enthusiastic
support from entertainment personality moms like Leeza Gibbons
and Jane Seymour; the Emmy award winning writer/producer team
of Gary Dontzig and Steven Peterman ("Murphy Brown,"
"Suddenly Susan," and "State of Grace");
TV executives like David Stapf, Senior Vice President, Current
Programming, CBS Entertainment and Robby London, Executive Vice
President, DIC Entertainment, LP; and music producer Sherry
Goffin Kondor (Carole King's daughter) and her teen musician
son Dillon.
As it has
developed, we've become convinced that WM2 has implications
for programming well beyond our initial target audience. We
see the WM2 brand becoming synonymous with the message "You're
not the only one," and we have plans to expand it to teens,
expectant mothers, single parents, etc.
Because
WM2 products will be of importance to children and families
with little disposable income; and because the research conducted
to create WM2 products has potential value to scholarly communities
in the fields of education and psychology, we have established
the WM2 Charitable Fund to assure that these resources can be
available to the broadest possible audience. The Fund, supported
by WM2 profits and other gifts, will distribute WM2 products
and programs to individuals and institutions that could not
otherwise afford them and even finance research. We are currently
running the WM2 kids program at the Assistance League of Southern
California at no cost to the organization or the kids.
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