Active Parenting; Countering Social Influences

One definite way to ensure that your kids are being influenced by appropriate images is through active parenting. I'm not talking about physical activity here, although at times that may be required. I'm talking about getting involved.

When your kids head to the movies with a group of friends there is more than the movie itself affecting your child's ideas.

Let's look at a typical movie trip as an example:

1. On the way to the theater the kids pass a billboard advertising a new casino. It uses flashy colors and attractive beverages. These images spark the kids' mind and trigger conversation. The kids comment on what is cool or un-cool about the billboard. Who would or wouldn't like to go. What it is like inside a casino, and what they could or could not do.
2. As they enter the parking lot they see a young couple making out on the corner. Lips are locked and hands are groping. The kids are talking again. Sharing their own ideas about what they are seeing.
3. As they enter the theater their minds are filled with images of upcoming movies, some of them questionable in content.
4. While waiting in line to purchase tickets they overhear a not so clean conversation from the group ahead of them.

Your kids haven't even sat in the theater yet and their minds have been jammed with content about the social world around them. Wondering how this relates to active parenting?

In a short time your children have witnessed multiple social skills without the influence of a wise and loving parent. They are going to see these things constantly. They are going to hear them, constantly. As an active parent you can help determine how much is absorbed.

How does active parenting work? Here's how it would work in this scenario:

Escort the kids to the theaterSee the stimulus before they do and deter them from focusing on it Stop negative opinions immediately, no exceptionsShow your distaste for questionable behavior and contentTake the kids out of ear shot of inappropriate conversationsActive parenting means being involved. It means stepping up to the plate to counter the negative socialization that occurs every day. Be an active parent in every area of your kids life and you will see their hearts begin to develop.