Make Time For Family

A few nights ago, my husband David and I were guests on 900chml, a Hamilton, Ontario radio station discussing bullying with show host, Scott Thompson. Their web site has an informative and startling documentary on cyber bullying well worth viewing.

While we were discussing bullying in general, one stat that we both found amazing is that of children who bully in grade two, 60% were convicted of a felony by the age of 24. While there were too many things to discuss in the short interview, what we wanted to communicate to the listeners and to you here today is that this problem needs to be addressed by us – the parents. We need to create a family environment where each family member feels a strong sense of love, respect, support and belonging.

The other issue we touched on briefly is teaching life skills to kids at an early age and is it really appropriate. As any parent of young kids already knows, kids learn whether you make a conscious effort to teach them or not. Let’s teach them the skills that will actually help them transition into happy, successful and independent adults!

If you need further proof of this, listen to these stats that came up while talking about kids and money. More young adults declared bankruptcy than graduated from college or university last year. In fact, school administrators say they lose more students to high credit card debt than to academic failure.

I say we need to start eating dinner together as a family again. Regularly eating dinner as a family gives everyone an opportunity to truly communicate and to discuss how each person’s day went. It gives your children an opportunity to discuss current world issues in the news, talk about what their friends are doing, and discuss their wants, their needs and what is bothering them. Most important, it gives you a regular opportunity to give your children your undivided attention and at the same time build a belief system based on your family values.

Let me know what you think.