Articles

Why it is Important for Your Family to Keep up with the News

by Rayanne M. Writer

The image source is Pexels.


There are often things on news programs that may not be healthy for children to learn. However, avoiding the news can be limiting for parents. Finding a news program that encourages your family to dig in a bit deeper on the topics of the day may be easier than you think.

See the Good

There are really good people doing amazing things in the world, but not all of them get a lot of air time. To better view the world from a more positive place, watch your national and local news and look for the folks making a positive change. Then make it a family project to see what you and your clan can do to help.


For example, if you see an animal shelter that's struggling to calm and soothe feral kittens so they can be given to homes, you can go with your younger children and your kids can read to animals. For animals that fear people, being taken to a shelter can be an automatic death sentence. A calm child, reading in a calm voice, can allow a formerly wild kitten to learn to tolerate humans and become an adoptable pet.

Study History

Modern news events often mirror what's happened in the past, and the past is well worth studying. Older children may have been frightened by images of racial protests, but can be a way to start a conversation about Jim Crow laws and other racial crimes of the past. These lessons may not be comfortable, but they can make it possible to study the continuum of history and encourage critical thinking.


Finding these connections can also help your whole family to dig into the history of your region. For example, find out if you live in a part of the country that was homesteaded and when those contracts were given out. Study up on what it was like to build yourself a cabin and try to feed your family in the early days on the prairie. Study the dust bowl and compare it to current environmental stresses. You may even find out about local folks who were children during the dust bowl days.

Dig Deep on Favorite Topics

If you've got a child who loves trains, airplanes or dinosaurs, look for a news article for enthusiasts that will allow them to dig deeply into a topic. It can also be a way to plan for travel to see things that are part of your child's fevered interest. Many unique items are actually in very interesting places.


One of the most famous fossils ever discovered is the fish within a fish fossil in Hays, Kansas. This may not make sense, unless you consider that the middle of the United States was once an ocean. This ability to dig deep into the news topics that fascinate you can be a great way to learn about your region.

Learn New Skills

By following the news and learning to dig deep, you and your family can learn new skills together. For example, studying manufacturing trends can help you learn to invest for the long term. If you've got a child who's interested in making money, study the financial pages and help them set up a portfolio. This can start extremely small; there are many investment apps you can put on a smartphone that will allow investors to put $10 to work and watch the markets grow.


Brushing up on the right news program is also a way to learn old skills. Study up on the weather patterns for the coming summer and start some seeds so you and your family can grow your own food. Start some strawberry plants and learn to make your own jam, or plant cucumbers along a fence and make homemade refrigerator pickles. Find a blogger who composts in the city and create a space where you can turn kitchen waste into soil. Do the things that you've always done together, but add an additional step with the right news story.

Conclusion

Watching the news together gives you and yours the chance to dig into the world. Choose a topic and watch a video or read an article together, then dig a bit deeper into the most striking bit of information. Make learning a family process.


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About Rayanne M. Advanced   Writer

4 connections, 4 recommendations, 289 honor points.
Joined APSense since, June 15th, 2020, From Corvallis, United States.

Created on Jan 27th 2021 15:11. Viewed 158 times.

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