Petunia is a story about guilt, loss, and redemption. I wrote Petunia because it had been my professional experience that guilt and the difficulty in managing that emotion is perhaps the most ubiquitous bane of both children and young adults. In a sizable percentage of cases, the guilt acquired in childhood is still undiminished by those who have reached full adult and even older adult ages. Although guilt is experienced by most people at some time in their existence, there are simply too few guidelines when it comes to working through the discomfort that most feel when guilt becomes a part of their everyday thinking and feeling.One of the more prevalent challenges encountered in the education and care of today's child is the responsibility parents and teachers undertake as they struggle to impart sensible and lasting guidelines in behavior choices. The story of Petunia Rabbit provides an enjoyable matrix through which the caretaker has a basis for this undertaking. Petunia's story demonstrates that even in the most dire of circumstances, faith, structure, and tradition continue to be of lasting importance in the life of the developing child and ultimately becomes the sanctuary for the self-hatred felt by a surprising number of youngsters and young adults in all levels of our society. Many of today's children are overly protected in some venues but exposed to unacceptable (age inappropriate, pointlessly violent) material as seen in video games, on their computers, on television, and in films. The core event in Petunia's story is a huge flood that devastates her family's life and those of most of the characters included in the story. Using a natural disaster as the impetus for events was a purposeful choice in that most individuals are able to identify with those events that result in the probability of altered lives and fortunes. And while devastating, natural disasters are not the result of purposeful or directed cruelty. The story of Petunia provides an excellent basis of learning from models within the family and in society. Petunia's story demonstrates the following: 1. The necessity of a personal belief system to augment and strengthen individual coping abilities and societal structures, which are often lost during chaotic events. 2. The importance of fostering reliability, competence, caretaking, and self-respect3. The value of developing an awareness of the feelings and struggles of others.4. The risk and uncertainty associated with impulsive behaviors.5. The ultimate worth of meaningful work, interpersonal ties, and education.6. The value of paying attention.7. The challenge of responsibility.8. The value of and need for suitable mentors.9. The importance of using resources wisely, including emotional resources.10. The necessity of building a reputation for honor and integrity.

--Della Long Halper

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