It was a very different environment when Heather was a student at Lincoln Jr. High School in the mid-1980s. Now a parent (and President of her Home & School Association) with a child at the same school, she looked back to compare the challenges of her days in junior high, to those her own children face today. None of the kids had cell phones or computers then.
“The technology of today has made things faster,” she says. “In addition to the faster pace, the technology has exposed our kids to more things earlier. And there are so many choices, it make it easy to say yes to too many things.”
To equip her to assist her children in navigating the pressures of 2015, she turns to the Power of Choice newsletter. Distributed by the Power of Choice collaborative led by 360 Youth Services, the newsy piece sent regularly serves as a “check-in” for parents. She welcomes the tips that both challenge and encourage her. One of her favorites addressed ways to build resilience in children. With such fast-paced expectations, she learned the importance of helping her children build realistic goals. She also appreciated the reminder that parents do have the power to influence and guide their children.
It’s been a long time since Heather walked the halls as a junior high school student, and her priorities and focus have changed. Thirty years later, she’s devoted to parenting, enthusiastically describing it as the most important job.
And that’s where Heather is now.