Advocating for Others

Your family plays a critical role in your development. Your personality, your habits, and your behaviors are linked to your family. Families can provide a positive influence by doing simple things such as eating a family meal together. Doing so can encourage healthy nutritional choices and provide an opportunity to spend time with each other. Eating together also provides a good model of healthy eating and can allow the adults to prevent unhealthy behaviors.

However, some risky behaviors can also be linked to a person’s family. Children whose parents use substances, such as alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, are more likely to use or abuse them as they reach adolescence and adulthood. This is also the case with violence in the home. Children who experience injury or violence at home are more likely to commit acts of violence against others.

If you or anyone you know has experience with these or other difficult situations, it’s important to know that you’re not alone. Talking to a parent, teacher, counselor, family member, or other trusted adult can help you to resolve the situation before things become too difficult to control.