The Zimmer Zoo

This month’s Fishful Thinking newsletter is about Socializing Our Children to Social Responsibility.

It was timely because a few weeks ago I was trying to figure out how to get my kids more involved in community service around town. (I actually found a really great website for service ideas for kids!) The kids help me out every now and again when I put together a meal for a mom with a new baby and things like that, and we do a few things through church (I’m pretty sure that Feed to Read will be happening this summer), but I’m not sure that the kids really GET it yet. And some of those are on such a broad scale (rather than within our small community), that it’s really hard to understand how they are actually helping.

I also just learned that our town’s women’s group (that I’m a part of) is going to be pairing up with classes in the fall to help with community service ideas and to help teach kids to incorporate community service in every day life (I’m SO EXCITED for that!!)

What I like about Dr. Reivich’s newsletter this month is that she starts with YOU – the adult – and makes you look at what YOU do for community service. If you want to teach your children about community service, it’s important that they have a role model … and even more important that it’s you.

She asks that you “…Think about your own experiences with social responsibility” and asks the following questions:

• What did you care deeply about as a child? How did it affect your behavior?
• What social issues do you most care about now? How do these issues relate to your values?
• How do you contribute to bettering the world and helping others?
• How do you teach social responsibility to your children?

Then she gives tips for developing socially responsible children:

• Brainstorm ideas that connect with your children’s interests
• Let your kids be in charge
• Join forces
• Manage expectations
• Practice what you preach

Of course, she goes into each point more in the newsletter – so it’s worth going over to check it out.

Are your kids involved in community service? And if so, what do they do? I’m always looking for ideas for how to get my kids involved.

http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Community-Service-Ideas-for-Kids.aspx

Filed under: fishful thinking | Tagged: community service, fishful thinking, social responsibility |