More Ways To Help Foster A Sense Of Community In Your Kids Parents Families.com

In an earlier blog, I talked about ways to volunteer in order to teach your kids to have a sense of community. In this blog, getting to know your neighbors is the goal. Here’s what the authors of, 365 Ways to Help Your Children Grow, suggest:

(1) Have a neighborhood block party— Make up a flyer and put one in each of your neighbor’s mailbox. Have everyone bring a dish and party at your house, in the street or at a local park.

(2) Start an after school child care service— The authors suggest that you find out which mothers are home after school and if your kids are old enough to stay home alone, have them call a designated mom to let them know they made it home.

(3) Co-Operate— If the members of your neighborhood have special skills like plumbing, carpentry, etc., work out a system where you trade off services instead of paying for the work. I know someone whose church built a playground and an entire addition this way. They decided rather than paying someone to do the work the men of the church (and it’s a small congregation) would do the work. They got together and pooled their skills and got the job done in no time.

(4) Neighborhood Newsletter— Even a one-page newsletter would work to start. You can announce birthdays and other special events, let neighbors toot their own horns, or discuss important neighborhood issues. It’s like a community newspaper on a smaller scale and without the advertising. You can get a simple template to create your newsletter in most office suites.

When I was younger we knew our neighbors. I can’t say the same for now. Oh, I recognize people from my neighborhood when I see them elsewhere but I don’t really know my neighbors, not by name. And it’s really too bad. My house is New Orleans sits on a street that is just one block long and yet I still don’t know all my neighbors by name. After Katrina, I realized how sad that was because with the exception of my neighbor who lives on my right, I didn’t have anyone’s phone number so I was not even able to check and see how people made out. In fact, I’m just now learning how everyone made out a year later. So one of my goals when I return home is to foster Tyler’s sense of community by being the one on my block to start the block party. I figure I can try it and if no one wants to participate at least I can say I tried.