The inattention to children by our society poses a greater threat to our safety, harmony and productivity than any other external enemy.
— Marian Wright Edelman, civil rights and children’s activist, founder of Children’s Defense Fund.
This is not political. No choosing sides since I have only one. The human side. My human side is gravely concerned that physically, spiritually and psychologically, the severity and longevity of the pandemic took us to the breaking point.
It was particularly hard on the mental health of adolescents. Their activities, plans, hopes and dreams were canceled or changed, and disappointment hit hard. Now many teenagers are depressed, angry, frustrated, confused and are falling deep into holes of anxiety, fear and futility.
As parents and caregivers, we need to speak to their concerns. And listen. We need to help children of all ages with maintaining emotional stability and building their resilience. Resilience, the ability to cope with the fears and realities of living in uncertainty and traumatic stress, is what they, what all of us, need.
Experts at Johns Hopkins tell us that teens cut off from normal activities want to feel like they have purpose and meaning. They feel more empowered when they understand that their actions matter. Productivity and purposefulness can help channel their anxious energy.
What a time for those with more to demonstrate their compassion and care for those with little. Show them how behaving in ways that promote love, cooperation, respect and understanding, even via technology, can help us all stay alive, well, and thriving.
Encourage teens to volunteer for something they care about, to help those in greater need, to practice gratitude, and to be thankful for the gifts they find, the most important of which is each other.
Jim R. Rogers
I’ve had multiple careers, 40-years in TV and film advertising, a parenting and family life educator, author of The Incredible Importance of Effective Parenting, and a poet and playwright. I am passionate about parents, teachers, and counselors understanding the needs of young children and educating them in ways that will result in healthy, productive adults. I am also passionate about the loving moments I get to spend with my wife Sally and Hope, the dog.
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I read The PIague when I was a junior at Notre Dame, in 1978. I’d been given an assignment to write a paper about the book but had confused deadlines, and I realized at about 6 p.m. one evening that the paper was due at 9 a.m. the next morning – and I hadn’t read a page, had no idea what it was about.
Monks and holy guides of many different faiths agree that each person has their own “grace.” As Thomas Merton writes, “And each way is a grace, a special way is a special grace.”
On the mantel above my fireplace sits a representation of Quan Yin. I keep her there where I can always see her, because she embodies my intention and my spiritual practice as a human being and as a writer.
I lived in my suburban townhouse for nine years before I set foot inside a neighbor’s house. I knew their names and enough for a few minutes of small talk, but after that it felt safer to hurry back inside…
