Share wonder and good news with kids. Too many problems can be paralyzing.
I stumbled on a bit of environmental good news this month. Amid tales of climate problems, declining honeybee populations and invasive carp it's rare to hear good news stories about the environment. Since 2004, Americans are driving less. Much less. In the last ten years, every measure of driving distance has significantly dropped: per person, per vehicle, per household and per licensed driver.
What good news.
Whenever we share big topics with kids - taking care of our planet, caring for people, stopping injustice - we need to be sure to share buckets of good news. Children need a chance to approach their world with a sense of optimism and change.
It's easy to impart the bad news. But too much bad news can be paralyzing. As a child growing up in the 1970s, my schoolmates and I were bombarded with messages of destruction: environmental destruction and cold war nuclear destruction. I grew up convinced the planet I lived on was doomed and there was nothing I could do about it.
All the topics we care about - racial, environmental, inequality or other - are complex, on-going challenges. We can make progress in our lifetime, but we'll need the kids to make progress, too. Share the problem, but share the good news, too. We all need a dose of both to make things better.
Good news environmental stories make us all realize we can change our direction.
Curious about the study results? See pages 4-5 here.
Have you shared wonder and good news with your kids lately? How's your outlook? Have you been ingesting too much bad news media? There's both good and bad out there.
At 6 and 9 my kids are both still quite insular, so my priority is presently increasing awareness of the world around them, taking the good with the bad. So I like to simply draw attention to the newspaper as I'm reading it, usually at breakfast. I'll often show a picture and try to engage them on the subject. I do like the idea of helping kids feel they can make a difference, too.
Sounds as if you have a great breakfast balance. The first step is just noticing all that's going on around us, as you say.
I'm in this for my grand (!#!) nieces and nephews, and I've learned that when I'm around the house, if I don't tell their parents, my nephews and nieces, the good things that happen, cynicism tends to abound about everything from government to compost. Yup, the children need to hear some good things because honestly, it's a challenging time for this coming-up generation. But if they are fed on fear and darkness and the resulting helplessness, that's no good either. Thanks for the reminder.
Glad you're putting those good words of optimism in there! Serious problems need optimistic people to help solve them. Your grand nieces and nephews are lucky to have you.