How Can I do Something for Children?

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• Family Volunteering

By The Voices for Children

These are difficult times for families. Vast economic and social changes over the past twenty years mean that most parents are struggling as never before to juggle jobs, household work and family life. Because these pressures have cut greatly into the time and energy that parents can give their children, many children need other caring adults involved in their lives. They need the attention and interest of adults in their neighbourhoods, schools, daycare centres and playgrounds grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbours, teachers, coaches and childcare providers. Everyone can get involved in helping to be sure that all children and youth have what they need to become healthy, confident, productive adults. Everyone can make a difference for children.

Doing something for children doesn’t have to take long an hour can make a difference. You don't have to be an expert, and you don't have to spend money. There is no one way to make a difference for kids there are lots of ways and each one counts. Here are some ideas that can make a difference for children.

Things you can do at home.

Listen to your children try to find time to talk to them one-on-one every day.

Choose a meal a day to eat together if dinner is difficult because of busy schedules, how about breakfast?

Involve your kids in planning and preparing meals.

Include everyone in the household chores working together in your home teaches kids responsibility and helps parents with the domestic load.

Do physical activities together swimming at the local ‘Y' or recreation centre, a family hike or raking leaves together.

Watch television with your kids and use what you watch to start discussions about issues and events and programs. Parents' values are more important than any other influence.

Share family traditions and heritage.

Create and keep family traditions for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions.

Encourage kids to keep in touch with extended family members by letter or phone.

Develop a network of friends and neighbours to act as an extended family if you're living far away from your own family.

Involve kids in making family rules and decisions.

Get involved in your children's school attend parent/ teacher meetings, help with special projects in the classroom, go along on an outing.

Create a ‘learning space’ in the house where you are available to help with homework. Do work of your own from the office, or paying household bills at the same time as your kids are doing homework.

Help your children with their homework. Talk to them about what they did in school.

Get to know your kids' friends and their friends' parents.

Give your kids a consistent bedtime ritual that can include reading and time for discussing what happened that day.

Make sure your children know how to get help in an emergency. Post telephone numbers, including 911, and names of nearby neighbours or friends.

Things you can do in your neighbourhood.

Participate in neighbourhood events garage sales, community craft fairs, neighbourhood watch programs

Provide a 'check-in' service for latchkey kids. Have them phone you after school to say they're home.

Be a volunteer tutor or coach or help out in a school lunchroom, gym or playground or at a local childcare centre.

Create a partnership between a seniors group or residence and a daycare centre or school.

Donate materials to your local school or daycare books, art supplies, sports equipment or computer equipment.

Offer to babysit so parents can have some time off.

Welcome new families to your neighbourhood and let them know about programs and services that are available nearby.

Help to keep a park open or get it better equipped.

Run for your local school board.

Things you can do at your workplace.

Make sure your senior management and union know about the types of 'family friendly’ benefits that employees want and the corporate benefits of providing a 'family friendly' workplace.

Suggest your workplace adopt flexible work schedules, compressed work weeks, work at home arrangements or job-sharing options.

Encourage your workplace to 'adopt' a school, daycare centre or sports team and help with supplies and staff volunteers.

Make childcare an issue in your company evaluate what your company is doing for families and recommend improvements. Look at parental leave, making childcare a benefit like healthcare, flex-time, providing employees with childcare information, or setting up a childcare centre onsite.

Look into youth job training corporate executives, managers or supervisors as mentors for young people, internships, summer jobs, job shadowing or high school co-op programs.

Hire local youth for after-school or summer employment. Pinpoint jobs that young people could do that's a way for your organization to make a commitment to its community.

Bring in speakers on children's issues for lunchtime seminars.

Volunteer to talk to school children about your work so that they can learn about career choices.

Offer services desk-top publishing, advertising, catering, marketing for free to non-profit organizations that work with children.

Assist these organizations with fundraising or with annual events on behalf of children and youth.

Meet with other businesses in your community to explore working together on programs that support children.

Things you can do in your community.

Find out who your elected representatives are at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. Ask them what they’re doing to help children in your area.

Express your concern to elected leaders about the impact of budget decisions on children.

Ask candidates running for office what they intend to do for children let them know this will influence your vote.

Join the public debate about changes to legislation that affect children social services, healthcare, financial support for low-income families, childcare.

Subscribe to a newsletter from a children's action group these will give you more ideas about ways of helping children.

Use the media make contact with local journalists and broadcasters and encourage them to keep children's issues in the public eye. Share with them the information you have about what children need and ways of making sure they get those needs met.

Get involved with community groups service clubs like Kiwanis, churches, the Junior League and work to make children a priority on their agendas

Who you can reach to help children
in your community.

Public Health offices and social service agencies, many of which are specially geared to children’s needs.

Child welfare organizations such as the Children’s Aid Societies.

Children’s mental health organizations or centres.

Associations for children with special needs such as the learning disabled.

Family, youth and community organizations such as the 'Y’ or the parks and recreation departments.

The United Way it can help you find a wide variety of agencies and organizations that work with children and families.