Encouraging citizenship in children
Encouraging citizenship
in children
Every child's first community is home. What children see and hear greatly influences how their interact with one another in the broader communities of neighborhood, school, country and ultimately the world.
How can you help your child take an active role in citizenship? Stay informed and keep up with community concerns from the bottom up, beginning in your own neighborhood and extending to global issues. Let your child see you using a variety of sources for your information, such as newspapers, radio, television and the World Wide Web.
In addition, you should exercise your right to vote. Let your child accompany you to the polls and explain why it is important to vote in local, state and national elections.
Other activities include:
* Identify at least one cause or need in your community and volunteer to
help. Let your child
know why you think it is important and how you are trying to
help.
* Find and share success stories with your child. It is easy to be overwhelmed
by problems
with the environment, for instance, but even kids can and do make a
difference. Talk about
the importance of joining forces. Encourage your child to involve
other kids in tackling big
projects such as a creek or playground clean-up.
To that end, teach your child the importance of being a steward to the environment. Here are a few tips to share with your child:
* Model environmentally responsible behavior, such as turning off lights and
appliances when
not in uses. Also, recycle newspapers, glass and cans.
* Buy eco-friendly products and let your children know why.
* Reduce consumption of goods. Do not buy items in excess.
* Volunteer to help a group at your child's school to beautify the grounds. Your
concern will
be contagious.
* Write government officials at the local, state and national levels about your
environmental
concerns. Encourage children to write their own letters or
petitions to send to officials.
Excerpts of this column were reprinted with permission from "It Starts on the Frontline," the National School Public Relations Association's newsletter