Message from Our Co-Chairpersons
"A child is a person who is
going to carry on whatever you have started. He is going to sit where you
are sitting and when you are gone, attend to those things which you think
are important. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they will
be carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your cities, states
and nations. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools,
universities, and corporations. Your books are going to be judged, accepted
or condemned by him. The fate of humanity is in his hands. So it might be
well to pay him some attention." – Abraham Lincoln.
The message is eternal and applies to us today. It is, simply that we
all have a responsibility to connect with each other, young and old alike. But us older folks, often forget communication
is a two-way process. A good example is the parent who lectures and thinks
the child is listening; while the child is thinking the parent never listens
to them, so why bother. Think about how much better you feel towards the
person that really listens to what you have to say. That person is probably
a great friend or someone who cares about you a great deal. Listening is the
greatest form of caring and respect we can give to one another.
The largest study ever done of American adolescents found
ěconnectednessî with parents the most powerful predictor of health and
well being. (from Inheriting America, publisher:Fountain
Institute, 1999). Connectedness
was defined as a measure of whether a child believed that they were loved
and cared for. The outcome of that study found that the caring parent who
thought their child was not listening, was listening after all.
The intergenerational transfer of our values is just as important as leaving our children an inheritance. Also, and maybe more valuable, is to leave our children with the knowledge and understanding that we cared about them. So, like Abe said, we might want to start paying them some attention!
Alan & Carol Parrington,
Intergeneration Day National Co-Chairpersons