It has been very distressing to me to hear about the instances of bullying, both in Vermont and Florida. It has gotten me thinking about the time spent in our family units. I think we are losing some aspects of our society that is very important. When I was a kid there was always a daily family meal, when we were all at the table, usually at dinner time. My mother cooked or sometimes my dad and we kids all did the dishes and cleanup. There was a lot of wrangling among us kids as to who could do the least amount of work, but it was a valuable lesson in learning that the meal didn't just magically appear and we owed something back to our parents for providing us with the nourishment.
In sitting down altogether to a family meal, it gave us a chance to share our day. If something happened at school that distressed us would could talk about it with our parents. Taking our side made us feel loved and cared for.
We all face situations everyday in which we could make a difference in someones life. We need to sit down with our children and talk about these things that are going on in the world and how we can change them. Let's share a meal where the devices are put away and we have the full attention of all the family members, whether it's a single mom or dad and their child, or a noisy table of ten. We need to listen to each other and prevent the death of even one child from behavior that we wouldn't want ourselves or our children to be the victim of.
No comments:
Post a Comment