IF CHILDREN LIVE WITH FRIENDLINESS,
THEY LEARN THE WORLD IS A NICE PLACE IN WHICH TO LIVE.
A friendly home environment is one in which children's efforts are encouraged, recognized, and praised; where their mistakes, shortcomings, and individual differences are tolerated; and where they are treated fairly, with patience, understanding, and consideration.
Friendliness creates more friendliness – it helps make new friends and strengthen old friendships. Start your kids off right by showing them how to be a good friend.
Taking an interest in community projects can be a family affair. Getting together to give clothing and food to the needy helps to stimulate in our children a spirit of concern for the good of others.
A family atmosphere that is lighthearted and friendly surrounds all who enter the home with a welcoming glow. It's not always easy to maintain that glow, but it's one of the most important things we can try to do as parents.
It is what we actually do with our children that count, much more than what we say, or even what we believe. Our behavior leaves an imprint on our children and the generations that follow.
Our children witness and absorb the way we live together day to day, and what they learn serves as model for them their whole lives. This will affect not only them, but their children, too.
Often, grandparents have more quality time to give to their grandchildren than they had for their own children. Let them give it! And appreciate them for it.
Let's expect the best of our children – and, in fact, of all children. The kids down the street, across town, and far away. Let's do all we can to make it easy for them to do their best.
Family celebrations give our children a chance to see us as people, not just as parents, by revealing us in a new and different light – dancing into the night, telling jokes, playing games, having fun with our friends.
The family is your child's first exposure to the world. Create a family tone that is harmonious with your highest aspirations for your child and seek to maintain it as best you can.
Close connections with family and friends outside the nuclear family open up our children’s world. Find ways to foster these relationships for your child.
Friends of the family can provide invaluable outreach and support during stressful times. Be sure to nurture your own friendships as well as your children's, so that you will have someone to turn to when you need help.
It's important to be friendly and stay in touch with the parents of our children's friends. It's one good way of keeping the lines of communication open, and it offers a valuable window into our children’s world.
We know the world is not always such a nice place in which to live, but it is our home. How can we, our children, and our children's children make the world a better place for all of us?
We want our children to be able to embark on their path into the world with an attitude of friendliness and positive expectations, each finding her own unique and special way to contribute to the greater good.
Each of our children has the potential to be an instrument for positive changes in the world. Help them find small and concrete ways to do so, from an early age.
Family gatherings are a time for ritual, when our cultural and ethnic traditions are celebrated and we tell stories about the past. Our children love to hear about our own childhood escapades.
Family gatherings give our children a way of understanding the passage of time and the fact that they are growing up. It's fun for them to look at the photos taken at these times, and to see how they’ve changed from year to year.
An extended network of loving adults can help create a richer world for our children. Find ways to keep this network alive and well by being a good neighbor, a concerned friend, and involved member of your own extended family.
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