What the World Needs Now

By Gail Troussoff Marks

I recently heard the 60's tune “What the World Needs Now is Love” by Jackie DeShannon.It sounded sweet, and naive, especially when sandwiched between news reports of violence and death here and abroad. Is love and caring alive in today's world?

When teaching gymnastics I see young children being kind to each other. On rare occasions I see less desirable behavior too, but there are enough examples of compassion and friendship to bolster my faith in human nature. Encouraging these early instincts of empathy is important, since kindness and caring is rarely emphasized in our busy and competitive society. Likewise, while “friending” is popular in social media, building deep friendships is becoming less common.

The process of growing up and learning how to interact with others is difficult. Children benefit from social contact with other children through varied activities. Kids interact and communicate differently in different environments. Peer pressure can make otherwise nice children do mean things. However, when children havemultiple groups of friends, one group can provide a buffer when another is not supportive. For example, if school friends are being petty or mean, sports friends can providea warm refuge.

When deciding onclasses or sportsfor your children, look for instructors who praise and promotechildren's instincts to be kind.In sports, all the participants benefit when teamwork is emphasized. I've watched individual gymnastscheer one another on as they learn new skills, and when one gymnast succeeds, everyone is happy. When coachesvalue their athletes as much as they do winning, the result is successful athletes and teams. Success in any activity spills over into school and other aspects of life. Success builds the confidence that enables kids to reach out to others.

Activities give kids opportunities to develop interpersonal skills through live interaction, rather than online communication. Childhood friendships can be fickle. When a best friend ends up in a different class the next year, the friendship can crumble. In contrast, a teammate in an after-school sport can be a companion for years. Enjoying and assessing the friendships made outside of school can help a child seek out compatible school friends. Nurturing children's instincts of empathy coupled with self-confidence can help them be good friends and choose kind friends. The world needs more good friends.