All Articles Tagged "black parenting"
How to Raise a Troubled Young Girl
Being a teenager is hard enough, and a variety of influences can leave some girls feeling that there is no escape from gossip and the pressure to look, think and act a certain type of way. In addition, many of our young women are growing up in single-parent families where resources are limited. According to the 2002 US Census Bureau more than one-fourth of all of the children in the country lived with only their mother or father, including 48% of all African- American children.
The truth is that parents are significantly younger these days. With teenage pregnancies on the rise a majority of children are being raised in households in which parent(s) are unemployed or underemployed with very little education. This often leads to a situation where girls are growing up in an economically disadvantaged area that is often filled with crime, poverty and what can seem like very little positive options for a successful future. Some girls are left feeling like the only places the can turn to for the answers are Twitter, Facebook and Myspace.
The good news is that increased connections with reliable positive role models can make a significant difference in the lives of our youth. You don’t necessarily need money, power or fame to help either. Here are some suggestions on how you can make the difference whether you are a parent or someone who just wants to help:
12-Step Guide to Becoming a Better Parent
Being a parent isn’t easy and there is no handbook that addresses the unique needs of every child. Whether it is your first, second or third, the journey is never the same. As parents, it is not our job to raise perfect children. It’s our responsibility to train them how to make good decisions. In order to fulfill our end of the bargain, we have to be good examples.
Here are 12 tips that can help every parent:
Living, Parenting: Our Bonds Are Broken: Why Communities Of Color Keep Suffering
(Madame Noire) — We all have a vision of prosperity, and with that vision, an eagerness to blame the outside world when things don’t go our way sometimes. Although several economic, social and political problems are without question the fault of institutional racism, biased employers, and a world of white privilege, how long are communities of color willing to bleed? Instead of our pockets getting fatter, our problems are expanding more quickly than a bottom in tight jeans…and overflowing into a muffin top of defeat.
