These Are Funny-Ass Checkers

Book excerpt: As a therapist, Eileen Bartow-Rives has enjoyed the vagaries and whims of children's thinking and actions for thirty years. Her observations provide an insider's view of these children as they navigate this unfamiliar situation with a person they do not know, but whom their parents have entrusted with their care for an hour at a time. Stories focus on the surprising things kids say and do from the moment they are greeted in the waiting room to the time they are returned to their parents at the end of the session. The majority are typical kids struggling with everyday issues. A few face deeper lifelong challenges. All of them have their own view of the world that enlightens our own. Finally, the stories provide a look into the idiosyncratic, sometimes refreshing viewpoints of kids facing commonplace challenges. Their observations surprise, but also enrich our understanding of what it is like to be a kid.