Below, please find additional take action steps for Parents/Guardians:
Model Initiation in Simple, Small Ways Daily. Some ideas to consider include:
Honor or Create Family Customs and Traditions. If you don’t have any, co-create traditions with your child. What about sitting down to dinner together as a family? Pick one night and make it tradition. Begin the meal by making a connection with each other, the food, the bounty and blessings before you. The purpose of ritual is to bring into conscious reality attunement and a sense of connection with each other and your surroundings.
Ritualizing the little things can be so big. Like: How do you greet one another first thing in the morning? How do you say good night? How can your family and community values be reflected in how you say hello or good-bye to a loved one?
Connect with Nature. What is home? If you asked your child this question what answers do you hear? Does home extend beyond a man-made structure into the natural world and the natural relationships that exist in our lives? How can our children find and fully embrace their authentic selves if they don’t know where they are? Go outside every day, even in the hot sun or cold snow. Experience “home” and time from the perspective of Mother Nature.
Give the Gift of Silence. Silence helps our children develop their own internal dialogue in order to narrate and understand the world, giving meaning to their lives. Our children need time alone – quite time to think and reflect. Abundant opportunities are all around Just listen.
Discuss and Practice Your Values Explicitly. Help your children explore and embody shared family and community values through experiences like co-creating a living document that reflects your family’s values.
Listen To and Honor Your Child’s Voice. Children are naturally inquisitive who see and experience the world through a personal filter. If our children are going to become catalysts that help to transform our future they need to be part of changing the story. Looking at the world through the fresh eyes of a child can help us see things differently and help us to adapt to a changing world. That is actually one of the central reasons for rites of passage. To capture the uniqueness of an adolescents “adaptive brain.”
Express Gratitude. Have a dedicated time where everyone in your family reflects on what you are grateful for and how your attitudes and behaviors can bring more of that into your life. Remember, the little things matter.
Embrace an Attitude of Playfulness in Learning and Life. Exploring and embracing risk and failure are essential elements for growth. Inspire an attitude of playfulness in your child by modeling it yourself. Help your child find and explore his or her interests, passions, inherent gifts and develop their talents.
Personal consultation with a member of the PERMIE KIDs and Edge Alliance community working with the Center and David Blumenkrantz. Talk with Jen and David – share ideas to formulate your rite of passage experience. Join in with our Edge Alliance on collaborative group calls and video conferencing with parents just like you – Be with us for our “Electronic Campfires.”
