For Jamaican Keisha Cameron, raising her young son is not always a walk in the park. But writing a children’s book that highlights his many adventures and learnings seems like it has been. In fact, it was while at the park that she got the inspiration for the first in a series of books featuring herself and her son Ayedin.
Cameron says she had to record that experience, not only as a keepsake for herself but also as a lesson she could share with other parents and children. This desire gave birth to ‘Ayedin Learns to Share,’ a 30-page book that features illustrated images of the main characters, Keisha, her sister Kim-Marie, her nephew Kal-El, and her son Ayedin.
She recounts, “One day, I took him to the park where my sister and nephew were. Ayedin was playing with his favorite blue ball, but he saw that my nephew had a bicycle. And he looked at the bicycle, and he said, “Mommy, I want to share.” At that moment, I realized he knows what it means to share without us having to say it to him,” explaining that her amazement came from his barely being two years old at the time.
Illustrated by Artem H, the book opened an opportunity for Cameron to start her career as an author and share her ever-growing bank of parenting skills, which she claims were never hers originally.
“I cannot take credit for being a ‘good mother’. I literally steal ideas from other people,” the first-time author admits, explaining that since she had her son at an older age, she had years to observe good examples in her life.
“I had 30 years of experience to watch other people become parents; to watch how they react to their children doing certain things; to watch the different processes and how they teach their children to do stuff,” she says, listing her parents, siblings, close friends, and positive parents on social media as role models for her. “Plus, teaching him teaches me.”
And as they both keep learning from each other, Cameron says other lessons, including responsibility, the importance of family, and self-awareness are in the pipeline, with another book already in production. But for now, this first book is Ayedin’s favorite.
“When he saw the first book, I was shocked when he said, “Mommy, that’s Ayedin, that’s Auntie, that’s you, and that’s Kal-El.” He was very excited about it,” his mother says, explaining that Ayedin has since told everyone he meets that he has a book.
Still, the three-year-old book star is not the only one enjoying his mother’s creation. Several reviews on Amazon show that this short story is a hit with parents and children alike.
“Got this book for my [three] year [old]. He absolutely loves it, and it’s now his favorite book,” says Thelia Thompson.
Another customer chimed in to say, “This book teaches a very important lesson that parents may often time overlook when raising their children. It’s always better to share.”
Grateful for support
Cameron says she is beyond grateful for the support so far.
“You know, when people hear somebody ask for support, they think they have to purchase something. But that’s not always true. Just saying to someone, “You know my friend wrote a book.” Or posting something on social media, like a link to the page, goes a far way. I really appreciate things like that.”
Raising Ayedin with his father, Cameron says she values how her community of friends and family help her train her son.
“Parenting is a community responsibility. It’s a team effort,” the new author says, adding that she often shares Ayedin’s milestones with her circle via social media. “He’s not just our child, meaning me and his dad’s. He’s our child, meaning he also belongs to my community of supporters.”
Now available in paperback and on Amazon Kindle, Cameron’s debut book ‘Ayedin Learns to Share’ continues to touch the hearts of parents and children across the island and beyond.
