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BGCA SURVEY SHOWS HOW MUCH VIOLENCE IMPACTS OUR KIDS
By Michele Borba | March 23, 2006
The Boys and Girls Club of America just released their study, “Youth Report of America” and the results are fascinating and stirring. I’m a huge fan of BGCA, but this report does parents a favor.
First, the report is a one-of-a-kind: they surveyed 46,000 youth aged 13 to 18 across the United States and youth leaders were the ones who did the surveying. That means the responses are going to be (in my book anyway) much more accurate. And we need to listen to those responses.
Second, the report of 46,000 youth tells us exactly what their concerns are. What hit me was the prevalence of violence as a concern is their lives. Here is just a sampling of what our children are saying:
* The number one dream our children have is for a less violent America.
* The number one fear of our children is that they will go to war.
* The number one problem they say they are faced with in their daily lives is crime and drugs (followed by peer pressure) in their community.
* Though the majority of teens say they want a less violent world, many feel violence is necessary to defend themselves in their daily lives.
These are shattering responses from our children. They have had such heavy diets of violence in their lives — from media, to live war feeds broadcast into their homes, to witnessing their peers (160,000 kids a day in this country say they experience bullying), or personally experiencing violence.
This report is really taking the pulse of our children - how they really feel. Please take time to read the entire report on BGCA.org. Let’s use these findings to create a dialogue in our communities and schools.
Let’s start a pact among parents. We can call it: P.A.C. PARENTS AGAINST CRUELTY. Here’s just a few things we can do:
Monitor what our kids are viewing.
Step in when you see a child acting cruelly towards another.
Become stronger advocates for media ratings.
Speak your views to your children when you see cruelty and tell them why you are concerned.
Teach our children peaceful ways to stop conflict without resorting to violence.
I was in Surrey, British Columbia where the entire city had a STOP THE VIOLENCE DAY. The mayor, teachers, students, parents, business, everyone got on board for at least 24 hours and talked the same talk. Stickers, bumper stickers, posters depicted the view. It’s a first step. Let’s take it further.
Enough! Our children are telling us violence is impacting their lives. Let’s be the adults here and take a stand.
Topics: Parents Do Make A Difference, Building Moral Intelligence and Character, Bullying and Violence Prevention |
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