May Monthly Message:

 

May is a very important month for parents/caregivers and young people. As spring officially sets in with warmer temperatures, it is important for parents to communicate with their children. Marked by both National Family Week and National Youth Traffic Safety Month, it’s useful to look at how they can be related to each other.

 

The value of making youth traffic safety a topic for family discussion cannot be overestimated, just as it is hard to overestimate how easy it is to be distracted while driving, given traffic itself and the distractions available to young drivers in the era of phones, iPods, and all additional manner of personal devices.

 

One not-so-uncommon danger that accentuates this distraction is the habit many drivers have of taking their eyes off the road when talking to a passenger. It is a matter of great discipline to change this behavior. It doesn’t take much distraction to lead to an accident. The lesson, of course, has to do with avoiding distractions while driving---for one’s own safety as well as the safety of any passengers.

           

The Family Message is just as important as the Youth Safety message: that is, allowing such discussions take place in a manner that is not just one more “warning” to our youth. Ideally, this and other “growth and maturity” topics can find a place at a meal or other time where family members have a chance to bring up subjects of interest and/or importance to them.

           

Times that provide an opportunity for all family members to discuss topics of interest or concern are vital for our youth and our families.

 

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Monthly Messages are brought to you by:

The Community Coalition for Healthy Youth

Each monthly message is provided by coalition board members. If you have further questions or comments about this message or would like information on how to become involved with the Community Coalition for Healthy Youth, please email ahendrix@tompkins-co.org

 

Thank you in advance for forwarding this monthly message on to all of your networks.

 

Community Coalition for Healthy Youth

320 W. State/MLK Jr. Street

Ithaca NY 14850

www.healthyyouth.org