Raising Children as Good Citizens
Raising healthy families and raising kids as good citizens today can be hard. Food and activities are very expensive. Considering it can take two parents to make ends meet, it can be hard to afford extra when daycare is astronomical. But there are many ways that even the most conservative family can eat and live healthier.
Raising a healthy family of good citizens today includes both physical and emotional teaching. Children must learn what is good to eat, personal hygiene, and exercise. Kids should also be taught about the importance of feelings and respecting others and themselves. To be healthy overall, one must be conscientious about both the physical and emotional needs of themselves and others. Being a healthy family of good citizens and kind souls starts at home with all members and then spreads into daily life in other areas.
Getting Children To Help
Children, by nature, love to help. If you get them involved with living healthy and being kind, you will find they will flourish. Healthy families start with getting the entire family citizen unit to work together to improve diet, exercise, and emotional support. Gentle ways to get children to accomplish this is to take their feelings and suggestions seriously.
A way to get more vegetables into the diet is to plant a garden. This can be a great family project that will not only save your grocery bill, but also adds quality family time, learning to solve problems, be good citizens of the locality, and encourage being active. Children are full of energy and life. They work well to inspire tired adult citizens who are burdened with too many responsibilities. Children can be exactly what a parent or senior citizens need to motivate a better lifestyle. They are usually willing to try anything once, if you make it sound fun.
Respecting Each Other
While most people think healthy families are all about proper diets and exercise, they could not be further from the truth. Living right and as good citizens is also emotional. We have to learn how to treat others, and how to respect our own selves too. When the emotional aspect of life gets overlooked, it can greatly affect the physical aspect. Respecting each member of the family as an individual citizen is vital in teaching children that all people matter. All opinions should be heard and considered.
The feelings of each good citizen should always be validated and respected, even if nothing can be done to remedy the issue. When all family members feel respected and validated as citizens, they tend to be able to portray and extend this into other areas of life, such as work and school.
Lessons On Love And Communication
Healthy families of citizens revolve around love and communication. These are the keys to long-term happiness and efficient functioning as citizens and advocates of good in this world. When you have the ability to communicate well with others, you can problem solve well and portray your feelings effectively. Teaching our children these skills of good citizenship and kindness enables them to go into the world productively.
More so, when we feel we have effectively communicated our needs to other citizens and are heard, we are able to open up and feel loved. Love and communication allow for trust, which is vital for healthy living all throughout life
Children are never too young to learn how to be good citizens. “Explain to your children that they are citizens of many communities – their towns, the country, and the world,” says Sharon Bergen, senior vice president of education and training for Knowledge Learning Corporation, the nation’s leading provider of early childhood care and education. “Most important,” says Bergen, “is for parents to model good citizenship.” Bergen suggests parents explain to their children that being good citizens means caring about others.
Tips on being a good citizen:
- Start by encouraging citizenship at the local level.
- Encourage your children to help elderly neighbors and senior citizens – without payment.
- At school, they can organize a recycling drive to benefit a local charity or citizen community.
- Instill the habit of citizen volunteerism by helping at a library or animal shelter.
- Children as national citizens can learn to appreciate their heritage. For example, parents can explain why Americans celebrate the Fourth of July and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.
- To drive home the concept that we are all citizens of the world, teach respect for the environment and for other cultures.
- As a family, join a cleanup project on Earth Day or contribute time and money to assist victims of natural disasters that affect other citizens in worldwide communities.
With a little effort, children will grow up to take their citizenship seriously in the many communities in which they live.