The Balanced Child

Book excerpt: As technology develops at an ever frenetic pace, the ability to socialize in a practical, real-world fashion is in danger of becoming as extinct as the typewriter or paper map. Yet, unlike the aforementioned items, practical social skills are a vital element for our children’s overall success and happiness. Therefore, they must be enriched by all those that shape the future of our next generation of adults. Concurrently, as our children are subjected to an endless deluge of information from the many streams of technology, a societal push to have them grow up to prematurely. Of further significance, is an ever flattening global influence that showers many mixed messages raining down upon our youth. As these images flash before their eyes, questions of character and developing this subset of such respective skills become ever more important. This book will seek to tackle how to educate our children on the cornerstones of a humanistic foundation as a person; harboring those traits of responsibility, caring, honesty, and service to others. It will seek to help parents, educators, and most of all, children to recognize that in order to gain the necessary tools to be a fulfilled and contributing member of this world one must embrace these abilities (and not just as an afterthought and supplement to a successful life).