A Parting Thought: Keep Working For A Stronger Family
Upcoming editorial changes - including a new question-and-answer parenting column which starts next Monday on the Families page - mean that today marks the end of Family Track. Through its nearly three-year run, it has supported the modern family with practical information, notes and tips.
It has gently reminded parents of some time-tested principles for strong families: Hug your kids. Read to them. Get involved in their education. Volunteer. Turn off the television. Simplify Christmas. Teach etiquette. Foster creativity. Encourage science. Appreciate music. Cultivate faith. Assign chores. Supplement academics at home. Establish traditions. Visit the library. Maintain family togetherness. Enter contests. Limit activities. Choose toys and videos wisely. Preserve family vacations. Plan a reunion. Join a club. Teach personal safety. Recycle and reuse. Attend summer camp. Write a letter. Instill a love for learning. Eat dinner together.
Family Track has also promoted community involvement because the oft-used African proverb remains true: “It takes a village to raise a child.” The Inland Northwest is brimming with family-friendly activities to enrich learning, foster creativity and develop a youngster’s skills. Children will become lifelong learners when they participate in the region’s arts, cultural, theater and concert offerings; when they visit the Children’s Museum of Spokane when it opens its permanent hands-on museum next spring; or attend the Centennial festivities of the Cheney Cowles Museum’s Campbell House when it turns 100 in 1998.
Families can play together, too, by participating in the traditions of Spokane such as the Lilac Festival, Bloomsday, KidsWeek, ValleyFest, Family-a-Fair, ArtFest, HoopFest, and the Interstate Fair.
The family unit is bombarded by outside influences that seek our time, attention and finances. These modern stressors reduce the amount of time parents spend with their children, confirms the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. Since children need and enjoy contact with adults other than their parents, one solution is to seek out neighbors, single adults, childless couples and friends to form super-extended families for youth.
In the book, “101 Things You Can Do for Our Children’s Future” (Anchor Books), author Richard Louv writes, “For many families, the invisible web of support that once helped parents raise children has all but disappeared.”
The most successful communities, writes Louv, work to weave a new web of support. In Spokane, numerous community organizations offer parents support in their challenging roles: Family Services of Spokane, YWCA, Boy Scouts of America, Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, YMCA, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Boys and Girls, Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center, Ogden Hall Shelter for Women and Children, Single Parent Outreach Connection, and Spokane Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Center. Local churches provide family support services as well.
Columns come and go, but families remain. As parents and community members, may we continue to do what is necessary to ensure they remain healthy.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
MEMO: Beginning Nov. 9, look for Family Notes in Community Update, which runs in Sunday’s IN Life. Send local items to Lynn Gibson, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615, or fax (509) 459-5098.