Bamboo – Cultivating the next generation

“Bamboo takes years to plant firm roots into the ground before flourishing with maturity. Families and communities must guide their children and have faith in their potential to grow and thrive. ”

(3 minute read)

Bamboo is an important plant found around the world. Farmers grow bamboo for many purposes. Just as farmers grow bamboo, communities must grow resilience in children to cope with life’s challenges.

Children cannot control the genes they receive from their parents. Children also cannot control the environment they were raised in. Without resiliency, children will struggle as adults to gain freedom from their past.

Young children depend on caregivers to provide a safe and stable home (Beardslee, 2010). By meeting those needs, children can explore, learn about emotions, and create friendships. Without those needs, children start to see their world as a dangerous place.

Families help children discover their identities and possible roles as adults. Parents support young children to adapt to change by building trust and openness (“Resilience Guide,” 2012). Unfortunately, there are many times when a parent’s job comes before raising children. Rising costs of living and the pressure to “succeed” forces parents to focus on jobs over self-care and care for family.

In the United States, working parents give the role of caregiver to teachers. Without good pay and benefits, teachers struggle to serve as positive role models (Reupert, 2022). Teachers who do not have support from schools or commitment from parents may choose to leave their profession. The loss of teachers is a loss for the next generation.

Calls to Action – Ways to cultivate the bamboo forest

We must empower families and communities:  

1)    Individuals should support businesses that act against poverty. For example, Sheetz, in partnership with Make-A-Wish and Feed America foundations, helps communities through the For the Kidz program. Individuals and families can also buy products that support children’s health and welfare, such as Newman’s Own Foundation’s mission to provide resources to schools and indigenous youth.

2)    Businesses should prioritize wellbeing. If you are a manager who does not have wellbeing policies, you could speak up to your leaders on how poor wellbeing presents risks to the company. Consider how employees try to manage work-life balance. Caregivers who have children with developmental disabilities have more challenges. The whole company suffers when employees stress over well-being. Fortunately, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has found businesses that show work-life balance. If you don’t know how to talk to your leaders about wellbeing, please consider Zapier’s ultimate guide to remote work.

3)  Successful organizations enable employees to take part in the community. What about paid volunteer time off (VTO)? If you are an employed caregiver and your job does not offer VTO, speak to your manager and help develop and implement a VTO program. Corporate social responsibility clearly provides benefits to everyone. Since VTO is good enough for top global companies, then it should be good enough for your employer. If your company does not support childcare, consider the childcare programs from these top companies.

4) Finally, educators must renew their place as role models. Educators face an unstable environment full of bullying, apathy, inconsistent discipline, and lack of consequences (McMahon et al, 2024). Flexible work schedules and VTO allow more parents to support teachers. More parents can also share cultural stories and wisdom with students during school events. By returning more teaching time, educators can be the role models that their communities need.  

The village does not rely on one farmer to cultivate bamboo for the whole village. Raising children is a social duty because children will eventually become the future of the village. Therefore, families, communities, and businesses must choose to act in the best interest of their children (Reupert et al, 2022).

Additional References:
Beardslee, W., Avery M. Ayoub, C, Watts, C, and Lester, P.  (2010). Building resilience – the power to cope with adversity. Zero to Three.

McMahon, S., Worrell, F., Reddy, L., Martinez, A., Espelage, D., Astor, R., Anderman, E., Valido, A., Swenski, T., Perry, A., Dudek, C., & Bare, K. (2024). Violence and aggression against educators and school personnel, Retention, stress, and Training needs: National Survey results. American Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001348

Resilience guide for parents and teachers. (2012, January 24). https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience/guide-parents-teachers

Reupert, A., Straussner, S. L., Weimand, B., & Maybery, D. (2022). It Takes a Village to Raise a Child: Understanding and Expanding the Concept of the "Village". Frontiers in public health, 10, 756066. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.756066