Society, friends, and outsiders sure do have an impact on our children. But us parents can't give up. Instilling morals we believe in without being naive to them fitting in, etc. is very important.


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Focused on Wellness For Women

Hi, I'm a bodyworker, and don't I know the loss of "life values" in society at this time! How would you like to collaborate on this subject? I do my best when this "young generation" comes to me. We start with what's "stuck" in their bodies, and then move into the emotional and mental aspects of their concerns. I know their anger, (fear), and listen to how they would like to change their perception of their situations......sometimes this comes up after a relationship break-up, and all the emotions "they" take on while trying to figure out what they are truly feeling about themselves. Young women have alot of concerns about getting older, and facing menopause. We also try to bridge the gap of religious beliefs, as "values" can hide behind who is right, and how many of a particular faith are "missing the mark."
Thank you for starting the dialog on this subject.
Awareness is the spark to inspired action.
Sheila


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The opposite of creation is pity. And knowing the difference is Soul-Full!

Let me first start off by thanking you Dr Ni, yes when I first started this discussion my main goal was to find powerful women that felt the same way, about this situation, I want to possibility find Solutions for the problem!

I think I have made that very clear in my writings. We all have our own opinions about how we feel on this subject, but at the end I am looking for women to get together and come up with positive feedback, again we are not here to blame, finger point, or judge anyone, my main focus is to try to help these young people realize that they matter and we care, and together we can make a huge difference.

Again I thank you all for sharing your thoughts and ideas, let 's continue to put our resources together. We are all capable of making a difference.

Dr Ni, you can contact me because I am really interested in collaborating with you.

Stay peaceful
Luisa


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Luisa Otero
Life Coach Expert for Women's Empowement

Dear Jess222 and all of the Women who are participating in this discussion:

Brava to ALL of you for caring about the younger generation.

As a former adjunct professor of English and literature, I want to say a special BRAVA to Jess222 for speaking INTELLIGENTLY about feminism and to the other Poster who spoke equally well about gender equality.

I would merely add two things, perhaps three:

1. Feminism is essential for 21st century living for both men and women. Men need escape from their cultural strictures just as women do. And let's face it, Ladies, that women still earn far less than the amounts men earn is just tired in 2010. How many women are heads of households? The old idea that men head households is just that, OLD.

2. A deep understanding of gender issues would help so many people in our cultures, Canadian and American. If we could truly understand how gender roles are taught and the assumptions we are taught as well as the expectations, we could truly liberate EACH OTHER. I live with a man who enjoys housework, and is honored that he can contribute in a way that frees me up to be an entrepreneur. And don't think he isn't head of the household and I am happy, perfectly content to let him be so. He opens my doors and washes the dishes. I'm in heaven and no, I don't loan him out.

3. There is a real dearth in terms of education that many of our young people are dealing with, and which their parents have dealt with as well. You want something concrete? Well, here is my agenda in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

I saw the results of poor education in English and writing at my local high school when I substitute taught in 2008. I mulled and mulled and just this year I came up with a plan: The Norristown Academy of the Literary Arts (NALA). We will teach elocution, diction, recitation, and creative writing. We will rejuvenate the instruction of English by providing published writers to assist certified English teachers at the high school.

Our ultimate goal is to make NALA a "finishing school" in the oldest and best sense of the word. So that these young people have all of the social graces that will make an employer of merit fall all over themselves to hire these graduates.

Oh, and we are just beginning our fundraising drive because what? WE WANT NALA TO BE FREE FOR ALL STUDENTS.

Our first goal is to purchase our headquarters, a wonderful old home in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, a stone's throw from Norristown. We need to acquire this property and then get it renovated and up to code.

Why a home in East Norriton and not a storefront in the "borough" (read: poor section) of Norristown? Because we want our young people to see better so that they do better. Environment, and the possibilities your environment introduce you to, make a difference, if only in mindset. And every successful entrepreneur will tell you, mindset is what matters.

Once that's accomplished, we start looking for board members and hiring writers. We want to provide homework help as well, so there will be a small computer center and experts in Math, Science and English to help with homework five days a week after school.

We have big goals and massive needs. The first is to come and speak to your group or organization as we begin our fundraising. We accept tax-deductible donations through Fractured Atlas in New York; they are our fiscal sponsors (see the website once it is up).

The website will be back up sometime Wednesday, May 19, 2010, in the late afternoon, and you can find out more about our company there. NALA has its own page, and if you email me or send me a message, I will happily mail you a brochure and postcards giving even more details.

Thank you for letting me blather on, and if you want to donate or link us up with organizations or people who might be so moved, please feel free to do so.

I want NALA to work in Norristown FIRST and then expand to other states and perhaps to other countries. I want our young people's future to NOT be a Wendy's cash register. We want more and BETTER for our young people; they DESERVE more and better.

Love and blessings,

Dr. Ni


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Dr. Niama L. Williams
http://www.blowingupbarriers.com
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drni
http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?drnisnews
http://www.squidoo.com/kickingbuttasadults

I urge caution before action. My life and my company McMillan & Wolf is dedicated to LEARNING from the homeless, the drug addicted, the lost. And I walk my talk. I live among the violent homeless and report their stories.

I agree that belief in something greater than one's self is critical to recovery, but that takes a while to get to. Instead of looking at what is WRONG with their lives and their behaviors, open your eyes and mind and really look for adaptations they have made to survive. Find one thing in each person that you can make a positive comment about. DO NOT FLATTER, just comment on something positive such as "When you did/said _______ I was impressed with your _____(solution; response; tolerance; etc.) because when I was your age I would never have thought of that.

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN OUR SOCIETY. WE NEED TO MAKE AMENDS FOR OUR HAVING PASSED EXTREME LAWS AGAINST MINOR CRIMES.

In the past 6 months I have paid for a root canal and one semester of trade school for a young man who was imprisoned when he was caught stealing food for his younger brothers & sisters.

Enough with the criticism, the blaming, the shaming, the solutions. No effective solution can be created from the same level of thinking that caused this crisis in the first place.

ACT! NOW! Acquire some humility and do not, I repeat, DO NOT PREACH to the young. They have a Creator whose name none of us will ever know. Do what you are willing to do materially first. Listen & learn. Be humble. And be open to what your Higher Power puts in your path to do next.

"YOU CAN NOT LEAD PEOPLE INTO A HEALTHIER FUTURE USING A ROAD MAP FROM THE PAST."


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Ripley Wolf
McMillan & Wolf

I was hesitant to read this because I am a young woman of this generation we're speaking of and I was wary that it would be the usual, "they have no respect and things are so different (elderly superiority)". Things are so different for me than my parents had it, and things are so different for my much much younger sister who is 15...apparently things are moving so fast for children in terms of learning about sex, drug experimentation and promiscuous behaviour (im canadian so the spelling may be different hehe).
But I think a great point is being brought up here, and it has to do with movements for women's empowerment. Now I know a lot of people are scared of the term feminist, but it really just means an agenda to create equal opportunities for women in society and ownership of a women's own body. Right. So, these days, hyper-sexuality has taken over media. Liberation of a women's sexuality has been confused by many to mean a woman can dress and act as promiscuous as she pleases and she's then equal. This just regresses the women's movement entirely, the subjection of women by women. Women need to develop their own sexuality and the way to understand this is to erase ignorance about the inequality that still exists today.
Getting more to the point, women and men are so convinced that we are all equal that women's over-sexualization is now serving men more than ever, perhaps they have nothing to complain about if they are pigs, but if they are real men they will want real women, ones that are intellectual and educated about their status in society. Autonomy, people, right. So the young generation needs to take up the feminist movement to still understand minorities subjugation in today's society.
Unfortunately only a small percentage of women have learnt about further progressing human rights and so men are even more ignorant, presupposing they haven't studied it in school, because they don't have a woman's perspective.
Before any conservative women get their panties in a bunch, let me say that women and their beautiful nurturing capabilities should have families and darling little ones IF they so choose, but men need to nurture their emotions through learning more about equal rights and the sad sad state society and the globe is still in so they can play an equally emotional part in parenting. This is so we can all function as people with satisfying careers, people with tolerance for difference (in gender, sexual preference, gender roles and all the -isms) and people that have more awareness for emotion and energy-the things that make life worth living- instead of on material possessions.
Education and spreading the word is the solution for right now!

Hi, Doris.

Re: young people needing God, doesn't it make more sense to empower young people so they can figure out for themselves whether it's God that they need? I agree that we all need something larger than ourselves, but shouldn't that be decided on by the individual? As long as they have a worldview based on respect for themselves and others, does it matter whether or not it comes from the church?

I'm Canadian, and not as many of us are religious here as in the USA, and I respect people of all faiths, philosophies and walks of life as long as they are based on love, respect and kindness.

To me, our spiritual beliefs are very personal and I support my son and everyone else in my life to explore their spirituality in whatever way is meaningful to them.

Thanks for the opportunity to express my perspective.

All the best,

Diana

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had such a negative experience of young people today.

I have a 24 year old son who went through some challenging times during puberty and when he was in high school, but he, his girlfriend and his many friends are now well adjusted young people, and I'm so proud of them! It's a tough world out there.

I was a single parent from the time my son was four years old, and very stressed, since job security was always an issue. I did lots of things wrong, but there were some things I think I did right.

My son actually thanks me for having read a book called "Your Child's Self Esteem" -- not that I was able to apply everything, but I cared about how he felt about himself and tried to make sure he liked himself.

I also made sure I was always there for him to talk to, and he appreciated working through problems with me.

Our home was a hangout for his friends, which could be hard for me sometimes but at least I usually knew where they were and now as adults many of them are my friends on Facebook, and I genuinely like them as people. I always had extra soup and a big bowl of fruit on the table, and we all talked about environmental issues and diet and the importance of eating well, which I believe to be very important.

It wasn't all me -- my son's life really turned around when he met his girlfriend and so did hers, but I think some of those things I did helped him to be a well-adjusted person who feels good about himself. I'm proud of his values and I like the fact that he has many caring, respectful friendships and that he values and respects his girlfriend.

I hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you with the young people in your lives. Part of what helped me was remembering how it felt for me to be that age (more like what you described than how my son is) and thinking of what could have helped me. I had virtually no self esteem, and it seemed to me that the kids who were successful respected themselves. That's why I tried so hard to ensure my son felt good about who he was.