Isn’t it interesting how much time, effort, and money goes into the pet-caring industry? I like pets such as dogs and cats (I’m not into snakes and lizards), but what I like even more is our next generation. Just stop and think about what our world will look like if kids grow up telling the truth, respecting one another, showing compassion, or doing things with excellence. This can happen if we put sufficient time, effort, and money into educating our next generation. I am not advocating ignoring Fido or Kitty but surely we can get more serious about helping kids who are in trouble. U.S. government statistics show that close to one-half of the child population report having at least one of seven documented at-risk factors in their life. Juvenile Courts formally process nearly 1 million delinquency offense cases annually. Truant (not in school) youth are 8 times as likely to become delinquent. Where then should our resources be given?

We all have the ability to make a difference. How? Needless to say, it starts with giving lots of attention to our own kids. Second, we can be mentors to kids in our neighborhood. It only takes time and some effort to share some love and guidance with a kid. We can also become mentors in our public schools by joining programs like Teach One to Lead One that will guide us step by step on how to be a mentor. Let’s all care for Fido but let’s truly love our kids.

Photo credit: Joakim Berndes | Fotograf / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND