A better world for our children and better children for our world

We’re always talking about making a better world for our children so I thought it would be nice to post about raising better children for our world. 

Nowadays it is even harder for children to grow up playing in the street and enjoying endless days of summer holidays. Society calls for both parents to work and it is no longer safe to leave your child alone in the street to play which means they are usually in front of a TV or computer in the hours after school or crèche. 

So how do we deal with this? 

To begin we make sure we have a happy work/home balance. We are lucky to have this option as I am able to work from home and in the hours that fit around our son and this isn’t always possible for parents. We try to take our son to parks and different environments so he can learn about nature and how to behave in society. We want him to grow up to be responsible not only for himself but also for the world around him and this begins with his attitude in the world.

To get him started on a road to compassion we began on children’s day. Here in Brazil it is a very commercial day where children receive gifts and are thoroughly spoilt. I love to spoil my son too but we decided that children’s day should be about all the children in the world. We sat with him and went through his toys to see which ones were in good condition and that he didn’t mind donating to other children who don’t have so many toys. We took him to an organisation and he was able to give his toys in. We then took him to a park to play and have a picnic as his treat for thinking of others. He is still very young and doesn’t understand yet but we will continue to educate him in this way and hopefully he will be a caring member of society.

I mentioned how children are often in front of the TV or computer after school/crèche. This is an important part of the 21^st century and must be considered so. We allow our son to watch a small amount of TV each day (15/20 mins) but we always stay with him and use it as a time to explain things. He is already keen on technology and has video calls with his family in England and enjoys pressing the keys on the computer again fully under supervision. Technology can also play an important role in how we can change society, as I have been learning a lot over the past month. The global Social Good movement has come to Brazil and as a family we are really involved (I’m busy translating websites and posts everyday). There will be a seminar here next week talking about how technology, social media and innovative thinking can be used to make social changes. It is great to see that new means of communication can really make a difference to the world that my son is living in and I hope I am able to raise him to be a great person for this world.

For more information about the Social Good Brazil seminar visit:  

http://socialgoodbrasil.org.br/english/ (English)

http://socialgoodbrasil.org.br (Portuguese)


Este post está disponível também em Português: http://babystepsindependence.blogspot.com.br/2012/10/um-mundo-melhor-para-nossos-filhos-e.html