Get Connected

Connect in Your Family

• Hug your children, and tell them how much you love them.
• Make time to talk with your children. Be sure to listen carefully to what they say, and pay attention to what they do.
• Spend time with your children doing things that they like.
• Attend your children’s sporting events and performances. Be enthusiastic about their achievements.
• Be courteous and respectful to your children, and show that you expect courtesy and respect from them in return.
• Try to share as many meals together as a family as possible.
• Volunteer as a family.

It’s never too late to improve a relationship with a child or teenager. Don’t underestimate the great need that children feel, at all ages, for a close relationship with their parents and for their parents’ guidance, approval, and support.

Connect in School

• Be a classroom volunteer.
• Chaperone school field trips.
• Assist at special events.
• Volunteer to be a coach for school sports.
• Lead an after-school program using your talents: start a reading club, teach a dance class, be a tutor, or share your skills in other ways.

Connect in Community

• Volunteer as a community member of a coalition for youth.
• Mentor a youth.
• Clean up a local park or playground.
• Start a youth league.

Above are just a few examples of the many ways you can volunteer and make a connection.