Summertime & The Livin' Is Easy...Or is it?
Stress, anxiety, anger, violence and road rage are words that describe the current vibe. How do we deal with the overwhelming negative environments that confront us daily, either on the news or in our own neighborhoods?
It makes us sad and depressed to see the senseless loss of lives in Orlando (bless those families) and in shootings in neighborhoods across Florida. Has the world gone crazy? Maybe. It is time that we each ask ourselves, “how am I contributing to this craziness?” Is this catching? The answer is yes.
So how do we raise safe, healthy and drug-free kids in the current environment? We increase the PROTECTIVE FACTORS and we decrease the RISK FACTORS in our children’s lives.
Our children are listening and watching us to see how they should act and react to all this distressing news. Here are some tips for how to help our kids through tough times.
Informed Families recently had the honor of participating with a group of dedicated citizens who are devoted to children and to doing the right thing…The Florida School Boards Association. Hats off to School Board Members, Superintendents, and school staff who are on the front lines each and every day, trying hard to deliver healthy messages in safe environments.
Why is news only bad news? Shouldn’t we hear more about all the good things people are trying to accomplish? In an age when people do negative things seeking attention, shouldn’t we stop enabling their behavior by blasting them all over the news? Imagine if we put bad news items in small print with no pictures and stop yelling about LATE BREAKING NEWS. Why? Because the media is throwing fuel on the raging fires of hate and it is making us sick.
Summertime is the perfect time to unplug. Turn off all media for a day, take the kids to the beach or the park, read them a book and talk about good things. While, I’m opposed to sticking our heads in the sand and not being aware of our surroundings, I think we could all use a break from sensationalizing – and take some time to appreciate the safety and calm available to us in the present moment. It’s good for our health and our kids will benefit from it in the short and long run.
Peggy
Photographed above: Florida School Board members texting Informed Families to sign up to get involved during Peggy Sapp’s speech at the annual FSBA conference.
