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Tony Panaccio is
a staff writer for News & Experts Syndicate.
 The
holiday season is typically marked by parents and kids trying
to be on their best behavior. Parents are more charitable,
kids are busy not pouting and not crying because they are
afraid of the jolly fat man catching them.
While all these good thoughts and good deeds are, well, good,
the question that Mary Jane McKittrick wants to ask is, “Why
can’t people be kind and caring all year ’round?”
McKittrick, creator of the children’s book world of Boomer
and Halley, hopes to encourage holiday do-gooders to act
the same way whether they are preparing for winter solstice
or summer vacation.
“It’s time for Americans to blaze a trail back to
a culture of kindness that actually works,” she said.
“Kids need a roadmap to follow. The last few generations
have lost their way, and the results are crippling this country.
Kids are raised with a sense of entitlement that leaves them
unprepared to cope with the hard work of economic recovery.
When the economy was booming, we focused on material things
to such an extent that something really important got lost.
We forgot how to teach youngsters the basic values of kindness,
consideration, self-sacrifice and hard work—the ingredients
that built America and made it strong. So, as we approach
this season of goodwill, here’s what I propose: Let’s
extend good will to all days and months of the year. I challenge
each one of us to live the values we want to see in others
instead of just talking about them, or complaining about the
lack of them.”
McKittrick’s response to the lack of focus on these values
was to use her fictional small town of Shady Pines, with her
lead dog and cat characters, Boomer and Halley, to introduce
children to a wide range of values including respect, common
courtesy, parental respect and personal responsibility.
“The thing is, books can only teach so much,” she
said. “There is no replacement for parenting-not educational
TV shows, not books, not even the best school on the planet
can replace caring, attentive parents. That’s why I’m
on my holiday crusade to remind parents that the holiday season
should really set the tone for the whole following year.”
McKittrick’s tips include:
Showing Common Courtesy. This runs the gamut from being
on time, holding the door for someone, saying please and thank
you and writing a ‘thank you’ note, to paying someone
a compliment and helping someone in need.
Cleaning Up Messes. This starts with the encouraging
kids to keep their bedrooms clean, and continues through their
daily lives. It carries through to cleaning up the spilled
milk in the kitchen, and it’s the foundation of teaching
a child about personal responsibility.
Setting Expectations. If the bar is set low by parents
who set a poor example, then why should parents expect good
grades, good behavior or anything else? If excellence is the
goal, and parents live that goal daily, then their children
will strive to achieve it.
Healthful Eating. Making breakfast for your child shows
you care what goes into their bodies. Packing their lunch
demonstrates healthy selections and sitting down for dinner
together as a family combines nutritional intake with emotionally
connecting. We eat three meals a day, and parents can teach
good behaviors and values by making the most of those meals
and the choices behind them.
Honesty. This is the tough one with parents, because
it’s easy to tell a little white lie to make the day
go easier, but then children begin to learn about dishonesty
as a tool of convenience. Parents should always be honest
about their thoughts, feelings, actions and mistakes. This
provides a roadmap for children to follow and an avenue for
two-way conversation when they mess up. When parents are honest
about their mistakes, it encourages kids to follow suit, and
it keeps lines of communication open.
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