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| Yes | 80% | 199 votes | Total: 250 votes | |
| No | 20% | 51 votes |
Yes
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Add to Favorites"Encouraged" is the key word in this article regarding children writing regularly to relatives. Correspondence and keeping in touch with family members via the written message has declined over the years with the changes in technology, i.e. email and cell phones. The technology is great because we probably keep in touch more frequently now than in the past due to the ease of the new technology but the method is less personal.
One of my favorite things has always been going to check my mail each day. I love getting those old fashion letters and/or cards that come through the mail. Each year it seems I get more phone calls and emails and fewer written messages. There is something very personal about that written message and going out to your mail box and being pleasantly surprised. I know my daughter and grandchildren love to get "Mail" from me and others so I encourage them to do the same. If you don't write, it's very unlikely you receive mail.
It is a lovely thing when you receive a note of thanks from a child for a gift given to them. I always think what good parenting when a child does this and I know that it's probably through the encouragement of a parent that is teaching them the manners of being thankful and polite. This lovely gesture alone is enough reason to encourage your child to write regularly to relatives. It is especially important to acknowledge a kinkness done for you by another person.
There also those relatives that are elderly and in need of this correspondence so they don't feel forgotten. Do you realize just how this small thing could be the high point for someone's day. You already know how I feel about getting those letters and there are many others out there that could have their spirits lifted by this little bit of acknowledgement. I wouldn't encourage my children to write to relatives they don't know but I would help them and encourage them to write to relatives they do know but don't get to see often; these letters help to build a relationship and bridge the span of time between seeing each other.
It only takes a few minutes to sit down and just write a few words to a relative. This is time that could gain a new friend for you when you need one. These writings also are a great way to help teach your child writing skills and grammar. Your child will learn at an early age how he or she can communicate with others and make a difference in his or her life as well as the life of others. This knowledge en-powers your child to communicate with not only relatives but with other people. Learning to communicate with relatives starts a life long behavior of effective communication skills with others that will be a bonus in dealing with people all their lives.
Learn more about this author, Deborah Coshun.
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No
What an interesting debate. I have a step daughter who is thirteen years old. She is strong willed and very opinionated. I don't think I could ever make her do anything she didn't want to do. She is at that age where she thinks she knows EVERYTHING and has the answers to all the questions in the world. She is quite a character. We have established a relationship with each other throughout the years which seems to work. She has a mother so I never try to be her 'mother' or anything. But anyway, we live in Oregon and her relatives all live on the East coast. They always want her to write to them. They write to her. Her own mother even went out and bought her lovely cards and sent them complete with stamps to try to encourage her to write but she doesn't write them. I have often said, "why don't you send a thank you note or card to this relative or that relative for the nice gift then sent or the nice letter". Her answer is always, "I will" but then she doesn't do it. She never does it. I think she stops thinking about my suggestion as soon as its made. The problem is that certain members of her family actually think that I'm the reason she doesn't write to them. They think that I won't mail the letter or I won't provide her with stamps or a million other reasons. I don't know if these are the reasons she will verbally give them for why she does not write to them or not. She is not above fibbing at times to make herself appear good. But all I know is that they actually think I don't encourage her to write or something. But that could not be further from the truth. I have encouraged her to write to them. She has an endless supply of paper. She has unlimited access to the Internet. She also has all the stamped envelopes her mother sent her. But she doesn't use any of them and she does not write to them. She walks by the mailboxes every day, twice a day, to catch the bus but she never stops to place a card or letter in the mailboxes. She just doesn't do it. I've given up trying to get her to write or send thank you cards. And I guess her relatives can believe what they wish to believe about why she does not write to them.
But after awhile you have to accept the fact that no matter how much you might encourage a child or teenager to do something, in the end, they will ultimately do what they wish to do. Yes, you could force them to sit down and write. But then they would be angry with you and that would defeat the whole purpose. They need to want to write but they don't want too so you cannot make them do it.
Learn more about this author, Kim Sharpe.
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