Rosen: Keeping families together during economic tough times
via the Press Enterprise
I will be giving a keynote address — “Keeping Families Together in Tough Times” — Thursday at Cal Baptist University, during the 37th Annual Children’s Conference presented by the Family Service Association.
Riverside County has an unemployment rate of 15 percent; 48 percent of homes are worth less than the balance of the mortgages on them; and one in five homeowners is at least 90 days behind on house payments. So, the topic is timely, to say the least.
The statistics are just the tip of iceberg. There are proposals to eliminate immunization programs for children as well as dramatically reduce funding for education, child care, dental and rural assistance programs for children.
I am thrilled to be part of a community-based program, but I worry that most outreach and assistance programs for children may soon be a thing of the past. You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in political science to understand why children are the most overrepresented group living in poverty and the reason cuts to education and immunization programs are at the top of the chopping block. Kids can’t vote.
I remember as a child overhearing adults speaking about how angry they were to pay property taxes when their children were grown and no longer in school. The logic was, “If my taxes don’t go to pay for my kids to get an education then why pay?”
I’m embarrassed to live in a community where children have to struggle to be educated, fed and healthy. There is no higher priority than our children. The cliché that our kids are our future is true. It may be distasteful to see adolescents with sagging pants or unruly children in restaurants, but it is inaccurate to say this generation is more deficient in intellect or compassion than was the last generation. They are, however, easily disenfranchised. When we compare how much California spends on education with the other states, none of us should be proud.
A child living in a home where one or both parents have lost a job or had hours reduced is at risk for multiple problems. The parents often become angry, distant and punitive toward their kids. Children in homes with economic hardship are more likely to become aggressive or depressed. These findings originated in the Depression of the 1930s and are still valid today.
Come to the conference if you can. Families can survive tough economic times by the model they set. If the parents have a sky-is-falling attitude, you can expect the children to reflect that. When parents reach out to others, group closer together and make family a priority, their children seem to persevere. I’ve even seen some families get stronger.
Registration for the conference and breakfast is 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. The keynote begins right after. For information or to register in advance, call the Family Service Association, 951-686-3706.
Mitchell Rosen, M.A., is a licensed marriage and family therapist with practices in Corona and Temecula. Contact him at family@PE.com
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