Inner-City Neighborhoods
Many of the nation's children live in socially isolated neighborhoods where 40 percent or more of the residents live in poverty. These children grow up in environments where violent crime, drug use, out-of-wedlock births, and single-parent families have become the norm. They lack role models of successful two-parent families both within and without the home. As a result, many start to assume that teen pregnancy, single-parenthood and the associated lifestyle are normal. They thus end up perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and single-parenthood.
A child that has never seen the inside of a stable two-parent home has little chance of creating one in the future. While many organizations prepare these children for success outside the home, through tutoring, mentoring, and scholarships, none aim to prepare them for success within the home - and that lack may fatally undermine preparation in any other area.
I hope to provide these children with role models of successful two-parent families. The family dinner table provides a casual and undemanding setting for them to observe family roles, responsibilities, and interactions, and is thus an ideal venue for such role modeling to take place. Since family dinner is often a rare or impossible event in their homes, the next best option is for them to experience this event in the homes of volunteer families.
Frequent family meals have been linked to a number of beneficial outcomes, such as better nutritional intake, improved communication skills, and a decreased risk for substance use, sexual intercourse, suicidal involvement, and unhealthy weight control practices. While some of these benefits may come from belonging to the kind of family that has frequent family meals, the dinner itself produces significant benefits - such as structure, stability, and improved communication skills.
IDEA: Pair each disadvantaged child with a volunteer family who would have the child over to dinner at their home once a week. The pairing would presumably last for at least a year, and the children would hopefully remain in the program for a number of years.
Benefits for the children:
1. A vision of a stable, functioning, two-parent household – children will be able to observe individual roles and responsibilities within the family, and see how parents interact with each other and with their children.
2. An opportunity to interact with people outside of their local community and come into contact with different social and cultural norms.
3. An opportunity to develop a larger vocabulary and better communication and social skills.
Benefits for the volunteer families:
1. An opportunity for the whole family to spend time together while learning to serve in a meaningful way.
2. Regular family dinner makes it easy to serve without crowding busy schedules.
3. The family will learn how to interact with someone from a different culture and background in a safe, limited environment
This program will thus facilitate beneficial cultural exchange between the parties. Both parties will be better equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed socially and economically. In the long run, having familial role models will increase the likelihood that these children from single parent households will go on to successfully form and maintain stable two parent households. Ultimately, this will contribute to the restoration of beneficial social norms in their neighborhoods.
- Valerie Barker (Activist) Arlington, VA Feb 22 @ 01:59PM PST
A child that has never seen the inside of a stable two-parent home has little chance of creating one in the future. While many organizations prepare these children for success outside the home, through tutoring, mentoring, and scholarships, none aim to prepare them for success within the home - and that lack may fatally undermine preparation in any other area.
I hope to provide these children with role models of successful two-parent families. The family dinner table provides a casual and undemanding setting for them to observe family roles, responsibilities, and interactions, and is thus an ideal venue for such role modeling to take place. Since family dinner is often a rare or impossible event in their homes, the next best option is for them to experience this event in the homes of volunteer families.
Frequent family meals have been linked to a number of beneficial outcomes, such as better nutritional intake, improved communication skills, and a decreased risk for substance use, sexual intercourse, suicidal involvement, and unhealthy weight control practices. While some of these benefits may come from belonging to the kind of family that has frequent family meals, the dinner itself produces significant benefits - such as structure, stability, and improved communication skills.
IDEA: Pair each disadvantaged child with a volunteer family who would have the child over to dinner at their home once a week. The pairing would presumably last for at least a year, and the children would hopefully remain in the program for a number of years.
Benefits for the children:
1. A vision of a stable, functioning, two-parent household – children will be able to observe individual roles and responsibilities within the family, and see how parents interact with each other and with their children.
2. An opportunity to interact with people outside of their local community and come into contact with different social and cultural norms.
3. An opportunity to develop a larger vocabulary and better communication and social skills.
Benefits for the volunteer families:
1. An opportunity for the whole family to spend time together while learning to serve in a meaningful way.
2. Regular family dinner makes it easy to serve without crowding busy schedules.
3. The family will learn how to interact with someone from a different culture and background in a safe, limited environment
This program will thus facilitate beneficial cultural exchange between the parties. Both parties will be better equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed socially and economically. In the long run, having familial role models will increase the likelihood that these children from single parent households will go on to successfully form and maintain stable two parent households. Ultimately, this will contribute to the restoration of beneficial social norms in their neighborhoods.
- Valerie Barker (Activist) Arlington, VA Feb 22 @ 01:59PM PST
No comments:
Post a Comment