"RISKS THAT YOUTH TAKE and YOUR WAY TO HELP"
Over the past several months, the community has been bombarded with the surprisingly lurid details connected with the issues of internet dangers, crime on college campuses, our neighborhood streets and parks, in our schools, and even in our homes. Families are being challenged daily to find safe and creative ways to keep their children far from these dangers. Our community officials who handle these issues, whether from a preventive outlook or a prosecuting one, are equally concerned with the increasing numbers of children and teens who are engaging in high-risk behaviors or who are being victimized.
Youth inherently are risk-takers, pushing the limits of their physical bodies, emotional states and mental capabilities, whether on the athletic fields, dating and social scenes or classrooms. Coaches inspire and encourage kids to "do more", "be stronger", "play harder" and "win". Peer pressure will often result in kids acting out in risky ways to be included. The stress to be an "A" student starts early in elementary school and can become a silent factor that will affect kids in good ways or bad.
In 2000, HCI was organized as a grass-roots reaction to tragedies that had brought our community to its knees. Early on, a small group of young students were asked to help the adults understand what they were feeling, doing, and thinking about the world they were living in. After 12 weeks of hard work they came up with 9 KEY POINTS of CONCERN:
1) STRESS in everything they do
2) SOCIAL PRESSURE significant in middle school
3) GOOD COMMUNICATION lacking in families
4) ASSETS are low in grades 7th through 9th
5) RISKY BEHAVIORS jump in numbers for 10th and 11th grades
6) DIRECT CORRELATION between Assets and Behavior
7) GENDER DIFFERENCES in 'acting out'
8) COMPETITION in all their lives and they don't like it
9) SCHOOL CLIMATE is key to building assets
This document has been the 'basis' for the past 6 years of outreach for HCI and continues to intrigue those working with youth. It must be noted that these 9 POINTS of CONCERN are listed in importance. It is KEY to recognize the placement of STRESS in our kids' lives. All parents and caregivers, teachers and coaches, employers and others, might benefit from sharing this list with colleagues and friends. Adults, who are running things, may not realize that STRESS has such a strong impact on kids, but it is THEIR REALITY.
The spring season includes proms, more free time, parties, graduations, trips to the shore and often Cancun, Aruba, and Florida. The possibilities for indiscretion, bad judgment, drug and alcohol abuse, and more are numerous and unfortunately can lead to tragedy. The role that STRESS plays during this spring season can be different for each person, so it could be an opportunity to work on COMMUNICATION with your kids. That's #3 on their list.
Helping your kids have the skills to deal with STRESS can be life saving. It is worth the effort to try.
Learn about HCI by visiting the website at www.hcicares.org where you can look up the ASSETS, read about why HCI began and see how you can support the work of HCI.
We welcome your questions and comments. Please email to: parentingadvice@hcicares.org.
You are also invited to write to HCI, Parenting Advice, 1068 W. Baltimore Pike, Media, PA 19063.
