KENNEWICK, Wash. – It’s no secret that children are influenced by their peers. If a child’s friends are doing bad things, they can start doing bad things too. Likewise, if their peers are doing good things, then they won’t feel alone when making positive decisions.
These are called “positive community norms” and it starts by changing your mindset to focus on the positives instead of the negatives.
Yajaira Lemus, a public health educator for the Benton-Franklin Health District sat down with Wake Up Nonstop Local to talk about the impact these can have on children.
Lemus gave an example of a football coach- she says if your coach tells you ‘don’t drop the ball’ then it can cause someone to think about dropping the ball. Whereas if the coach says ‘make a touchdown’ then the focus will shift to that throughout the game. Essentially, it’s all in the way we use our words because words do matter.
BFHD, Educational District 123 and the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health are partnering together for an event for educational leaders, public information officers and media to teach them about this positive outlook and how to implement it. This will be a hands-on interactive workshop to improve positivity in schools.
Lemus says in Benton County, 90% of youth (grades 6-12) haven’t used an e-cigarette in 30 days. She also says sharing this information can influence other youth.
The best way to raise awareness of this is to spread the information. You should also let create a safe space for students and let them know that they can talk to you if they’re dealing with something.
For more helpful tips, you can visit www.BFHD.wa.gov.
