This morning, after I'd completed the formal service prep, and organised the visual aids and interactive bit of the service, I sat down to read these two books, which arrived yesterday.  They are very North American and very dated (even the new edition is about 20 years old!) but they provided a good reminder of the basics of Transactional Analysis to which we were, necessarily fleeting, introduced during one of our pastoral care modules (when, given that was at least fifteen years ago, the updated material was still pretty current) as part of ministerial formation/training.

I learned two new words along the way...

Prinzes which is a (1970s?) gender neutral word for 'princes and princesses' ... I guess it has all the appeal of Ms but has never found the same level of acceptance!  Prinzes are OK.

Frozzie is a word the writers invented for frog, allegedly gender neutral, but then so is frog, at least in English. Frozzies are not OK.

Drawing on the fairy tale concept of wicked witches turning princes into frogs, the books then explore some TA ideas in an interesting way.

Quite shocking to read books that still see spanking children as normative, but even so, was good to be reminded of my own tendencies towards the 'jerk' (good child) and the 'critical parent' (bossy) and how that can play out in stress situations! 

Maybe one day I'll actually read the grown up version!!