Preventing Youth Violence Starts At Home

As parents, keeping our children safe and protected from violence is an important factor. In today’s society it seems children are exposed to and engage in acts of violence more often than in the past. While this may be partially due to increased exposure of this issue through social media, it is also a very real trend in society as a whole.

It Starts with Awareness

Parents, working with schools, community organizations, and with children at home can have big impact on how children view violence and conflict in the world around them. Talking about the impact of violence and how it does more than just cause physical injury but also causes emotional scars and long term challenges for both victims as well as those children using violence as a way to solve problems is very important.

Adults can use teachable moments from actual events occurring in the family, in the community, on favorite TV shows or in books to give children the opportunity to think about the harm violence causes.

Discussing issues such as the very real trauma of bullying, including cyber bullying, and using examples to increase a child’s understanding of empathy is a gentle and meaningful way to prepare even young children to avoid using violence as a way to solve problems.

Tips and Strategies

To help children to use effective communication to resolve conflicts and to help to support children who have been bullied or may have experienced a traumatic event make sure you:

• Model effective conflict resolution skills and avoid mixed messages as to resolving conflicts or difficulties using verbally aggressive or physically aggressive means.
• Talk to children and help them to understand how violence impacts not just the victim but also the person using violence as a way to resolve a problem.
• Encourage children to reach out to their peers who have experiencing bulling or hostility and to be a friend.
• Make sure children understand what to do if they see or experience any type of violence. This could include telling a teacher, a parent or making a 911 call to get immediate help.

Parents may also want to volunteer to help in the classroom during this week to learn about the different programs the school or daycare is using to help address issues of youth violence in your own community.

Tips For Helping Kids To Make Friends

Learning how to make friends is not always easy for children. It is very common for all kids to go through stages where they may not feel comfortable in meeting new people. While is this natural, there are ways parents can help kids to learn effective and appropriate ways to help your children to interact with their peers.

Encourage your kids to try to make one new friend. You can help your child to reach out to new people in their age group by:

• Reading stories about friends and talking about the importance of friends and how they play a positive role in the lives of the characters in the story. This can also be a great time for parents to talk about their friendships and some of the challenges they may have had when they were younger and trying to make new friends.
• Talk about how to have a conversation. This could include role-playing where Mom or Dad plays the other child. Encourage your child to follow the conversation, ask questions about what you say, and be encouraging and supportive of the communication.
• Brainstorm a list of interesting “conversation starters” to help your child have something to talk about when he or she meets new people. Give the child a chance to practice what these conversations may look like with family members and current friends.
• Have play activities where your child can invite one or two peers to a fun activity. Try a games day at your home, a trip to the park, or even a picnic in the backyard. Providing your child with a comfortable environment to start a conversation can make it much less stressful.

Remember, all children are different, and some children a just more reserved than others. Encourage friendship but don’t force it, your child may just need a bit more time to be comfortable interacting with others. 

Winter Staycation Ideas

If you’re stuck in an area where winter weather means bundling up and counting the days until spring and warmer weather, this is for you. If you’re dreaming of warmer weather and long for a get-a-way but it just isn’t in the budget,

staying at home may not sound like the most exciting of vacations, but there are plenty of benefits to a winter-time staycation: you save money – a lot of money, you get the opportunity to learn more about your area, no packing and unpacking and the money you DO spend stays local, which helps support the local economy. What a staycation ISN’T? It’s not a time to do chores, running errands or finishing projects that you’ve pushed off until you have more time.

Try these instead:

• Explore the parks and trails in your area – are they snow covered? Try snow-shoeing or learn to ski!
• Visit your local museums and historical societies – they can be found just about anywhere. Take your time and you’ll be surprised at how many times you might say “Hey I didn’t know that!” when it comes to your local area.
• Try new recipes and cook together as a family with these new recipes. Make a gourmet meal or try your hand at an ethnic food.
• Dust off your ice skates and find a rink.
• Take on some indoor fun like bowling or indoor miniature golf.
• Professional sporting events are fun but can be very expensive, especially if you have a large family. Try a semi-pro team or even a local high school game. And remember –there’s nothing like a view from the cheap seats!

Staycations can be a fun and unique time to bond as a family – so use these little day trips to your advantage. Take the time to plan what you’ll be doing on your staycation so you aren’t sitting around staring at each other instead of having fun!