The Village Experience

I found the greatest article, which sums up for me the myriad thoughts I'd had over the years, about my limited parenting skills, the ideas of parenting which I observe in the media, etc.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080627/sc_livescience/whywefearparenting

Our American culture no longer appears to provide the neighborhoods teeming with children anymore. There has been a cultural shift away from the large family. Thus, we grow up, our children grow up, with limited experience with each other and with children. I think there is a growing impact of this lack of experiences. I think children are finding it harder to deal with each other and young parents are finding it more difficult to understand their offspring and raising children. It explains to me why some adults stress out more over children's behavior than other adults. It suggests that adults whose experiences include siblings, neighborhood friends, babysitting and over all interaction with children of various ages will fare better, in the long run, being parents of their own children. It makes logical sense. The only children, the children who grow up in isolated neighborhoods or who call their bike and their basketball their best friend, may one day become the adults who are most frustrated with children's behavior.

In response to this, the Adventure Guides provide a small taste of a community with lots of children and sympathetic parents. I was speaking with a Moms Club this morning and their president reminded me of that African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child", and we commiserated together on how the "village experience" is disappearing. We're all so busy, so occupied, so complicated. The Adventure Guides provides a respite, a magical place, almost sepia-toned, where parents and children play and learn with and about each other.

AG Adds Life

I volunteered to be on the Recruitment Team for the Adventure Guides. I am sincerely passionate about this program, and I know it's in a transition stage right now. We recently had about forty or so members "age out" into Trailblazers, the "older kids" program, leaving the AG slightly bereft of supporters. Those of us who are left are completely still excited and thrilled to be in the program.

I've been in the program long enough to have seen it go from very high to very low in numbers, and that's only a normal, cyclic attrition.

One issue that appears to come up once in awhile is our local YMCA's choice for the program name: Adventure Guides, versus the original Indian Guides. The argument is that Indian Guides has more of a history, and therefore name recognition. A lack of name recognition may be at fault for our low numbers, some say. I disagree and agree.

In a previous post, I had explained my personal preference for the AG name as based on my belief that AG is more accurate. It spells out for all persons, of all cultures what this program is about. With all due respect to its Native American origins, a parent guiding their child through his or her life is not soley a Native American idea. Indeed, all cultures respect a parent who spends extra time with their child, modeling for them, showing them items of interest, and, yes, playing with them. So I disagree with returning to Indian Guides.

I compare the two camps similar to Coke and Diet Coke. Thirty years ago, no one had heard of Diet Coke. But there was a need. Now, Diet Coke outsells Coke, because society has changed in its needs, in what it perceives as important. No, you cannot bring up the New Coke example. That was a change in formula. Diet Coke was a change in the market. I can agree the AGs are currently not well known. But I do not believe it will always be that way.

I think the family market is changing again. There appears to have been a time journaled in popular newsmagazines of a "me" generation, and a success oriented culture, where family creation was being delayed in favor of material success. Currently, newsmagazines are reporting a different trend. There is an increasing interest in flex time, flexible work schedules, adoptive parents being granted paid leave, etc. There is a change in the market today. Adventure Guides is the Diet Coke for us.