Difficulties With Kids

As a high-altitude snowmobiler, I am familiar with the problems one faces riding in the mountains.  We meet our challenges more easily when friends and those of like interest surround us.  When we all work together to make it happen, so it is with kids, when they have a loving family, surrounded by friends and adults to care about them, they can flourish.  However, what happens when they are not?  Some of these kids have faced abuse-either verbal or physical; others are growing up in poverty and do not have the opportunities of other kids.  Still, others have negative situations from friends, parents, including stress, isolation.  These issues make the positive aspects of asset building very difficult to get through.  What is an approach that we can make to help move them towards their full potential?

Search Institute (https://www.search-institute.org)  cites a nationwide survey of 273,000 kids and has identified ten roadblocks to success for young people.  The more deficits that a child has, the more difficult the road to resilience is for them.  As a result of their environment, they often make harmful and detrimental decisions in their life.  One self-perpetuates the other.  Some of the deficits from search institute are:

1. I am spending two or more hours a day alone at home without an adult.
2. You are watching three or more hours of television a day.
3. Going to or having parties where alcohol is present with kids around or allowing kids to go to parties where drinking alcohol is present.
4. An adult was physically abusing me.
5. Having a parent who has a problem with alcohol or other drugs
6. Having a lot of friends who often get into trouble.

When the family situation is economically challenging with no money for food, no money to pay school fees, or no way to take lessons, the challenges mount for the kids, and they feel numb and hopeless.  How can we get started on these?  Read postings that will help address these societal issues with young people.

For more information, please see the Search Institute website at Home | Search Institute

I have a related posting at Overcoming Difficulties with Kids – Dr. Rich Patterson (pattersonphd.com)

Yours for Better Parenting,

Rich