Children PatriotsWritten by Rexanne Mancini
This year will be an especially poignant Independence Day for United States on July 4. While there has been a surge in patriotism since September 11, we all need to maintain a sense of pride and love for our country whether we are at war or living in peace. Children need to feel a sense of belonging, in their family, their classrooms and their country. They thrive in an environment of respect, compassion and stability. If we teach our kids love, honor, compassion and respect for their country as well as for their fellow man, they will not only be graced by a sense of patriotism, they will become better citizens. One of our greatest challenges as parents is to raise our children to be healthy, honorable adults. A sense of patriotism is a good reinforcement of honor and ethics. Our babies learn kindness from our gentle touch; they learn healthy self-esteem by our praise and respect; they learn to maintain their precious bodies with good food and regular exercise. They learn these living examples from their caretakers and schools. We are also responsible for teaching them to respect and be kind to others, to keep their community clean and to trust that their country will defend and protect them as best it can. I firmly believe they should be taught to revere their country’s flag and all it stands for.
| | Childhood FriendshipsWritten by Rexanne Mancini
Childhood friendships are as special as they are a necessary part of growing up. While some of our children will maintain these friendships into adulthood, many will not. Kids move away or they find other friends with more current interests and grow apart. Whatever form a childhood friendship is taking, know that these relationships are vital to your child’s well-being and growth as a human being. Your child may have one very special friend from time they are in diapers or they might have a gaggle of giggling girl friends or a thunderstorm of wild boy friends. These bonds can be helped along or a wedge can be placed between them by parents. Depending upon your feelings about your child’s friend, you could welcome child into your home and be gracious or you could find that child your child is enthralled with is a demon incarnate. It’s up to you to teach your kids how to interact in healthy ways with their peers or how to let negative friendships go. While I’ve been traumatized by a few of my daughters’ friends, I have liked most of them. The few children whom I found intolerable were not too welcome in my home, however, if one of my daughter’s insisted on a play date with that undesirable child, I would allow friendship to take its course, mostly to try and figure out what in world my child liked about her/him. Made for some interesting lessons in humanity. ;-) Most of these friendships have faded in good time, on their own. One or two of these kids have actually won me over and now are among my favorites, although I must admit these kids were basically OK to begin with. They just came with issues I didn’t want to deal with. I dealt for my child’s sake and all turned out well.
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