Fall is a time of harvesting. We reap the results of seeds that were planted with a hope, a prayer and a handful of dirt in the spring. This was our first time as a family planting, well … anything. So we planted potatoes. We heard that they were pretty much foolproof, and as luck would have it, they are! We successfully gardened and ended up with about 10 pounds of potatoes. It was also exciting to see what other people planted here in Juneau and to look at the beautiful pictures of their harvests on Facebook. We saw yummy-looking carrots, peas, lettuce and most amazingly to me, bushels of apples. I wished that I had those delicious-looking apples, but I didn’t plant apples, and I definitely did not do the work to get apples. This made me contemplate, “What seeds am I planting in my own family and community? What work am I doing to get the harvests that I desire?” May I suggest a couple of things that we can do (or continue doing) that will yield the results that we as a community want.
First, family dinner time. In this area, the statistics are clear. Children who eat dinners as a family are happier, healthier and better students. Family meal times have been shown to be a protection against children’s smoking, drinking or using drugs. As we have seen particularly of late, drugs are a serious issue in our town. In a talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he counsels us to examine our time using the standard of “good, better, best.” There are so many good things that we can do as parents. However are we so busy with good things that we don’t leave time for the best things? Studies show family dinner time is one of the best things we can do with our children and as families.
Second, reading together. We have all heard about the positive relationship between a home literacy environment and a child’s knowledge and reading skills. However, continuing research shows us that books can teach other important life skills. Books are a great way to teach children how to handle new experiences and stressful situations. Stories can help children understand, talk about and deal with everything from being bullied to the loss of a loved one. Also, books are an amazing way to teach our children empathy. By reading them books about other children, new cultures and experiences, we can teach our children to put themselves into someone else’s shoes. There is also new research showing that children who are specifically read to by their fathers, have increased benefits. In light of this, can I say how fortunate we are as a community to have an amazing new library in the valley and great libraries throughout our town? It would be fair to say that I love the new library! Our family visits the library four or five days a week. It is an amazing resource that is available to all.
If we can do these two things in our families and communities — eating together and reading together — we will be planting seeds to get the harvest we want for the future of Juneau. These two behaviors make for happier families, kinder children, less drug use, safer neighborhoods, higher academic achievement, more empathy, better coping skills and a never-ending list of benefits. I hope we will all plant these seeds so that our harvest in this community will continue to grow and be blessed.
• Jacqueline F. Tupou is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints.
