Asset of the Month – Caring Neighborhood
“Neighborhood”—what does that mean to you? Did it mean something else when you were growing up? There is a saying “It takes a village to raise a child,” is that also true for a neighborhood? It used to be. Remember when people only locked their doors at night, when they went to bed? Remember when, as a child, you were free to roam the neighborhood all day long, checking in only at mealtimes? Of course, we had boundaries; but they usually went by street names, not fenced-in yards. And that was okay with our parents—everybody knew their neighbors, whose kid was whose. And, everybody kept an eye on everybody else. Well, times have changed, but maybe it’s time to change back—just a little. Not just for our children’s sake, but also for our own. That’s why a “Caring Neighborhood” is our Developmental Asset for the month of December.
For the younger child:
• Take a walk! Good exercise, plus you’ll get to know your neighborhood and the people who are in it! Stop to talk, and introduce yourself and your kids.
• Set up a “safe place” for your kids. Ask close neighbors to keep a key to your house, and to let your kids come there in an emergency if you’re not around.
• Organize family-oriented neighborhood gatherings—it’s important for children to know and recognize the people who live near their home.
• “National Night Out”* is a good and fun way to start building neighbor-relations.”
For the older child:
• Have them help you organize informal neighborhood activities. Is there a park on your block? How about pick-up basketball on Tuesday nights?
• Look at any place people congregate as an opportunity to meet and greet—front steps, the laundry room, the neighborhood pool—all these have the potential for meeting your neighbors.
• Are you comfortable with allowing neighbor kids to play basketball in your driveway? Or to cut through your yard on their way to school? Then make sure they know they’re welcome.
As always, use common sense. Teach children to greet adults, and to speak when spoken to, but to never enter a stranger’s home, neighbor or not. There definitely are some “bad guys” out there, but there are also some very “good guys”, and a lot of them are your neighbors!
To learn more about this asset and the other thirty nine, go to www.search-institute.org/content/40-developmental-assets
*For more information on National Night Out, go to : www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/project365.html
This article was written by Diane Rumer for Kenton County Alliance. www.KentonCountyAlliance.org ; www.youtube.com/kentoncountyalliance
