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SOCIALIZATION

Children once walked or biked to and from school each day. Parents accompanied youngsters as well. By doing so, they became acquainted with their neighbors.

Now, a school bus stops briefly at the corner to load up neighbors' children and drop them at school, even when that school is two blocks away from the neighborhood.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

The need for increased safety and security in most neighborhoods has led to the creation of neighborhood watch programs. Often, the local police force will organize neighborhood meetings to educate folks about how to look out for one another and report potentially suspicious activity.

How can neighbors know who does and does not belong in their neighborhood, if they do not even know their neighbors?

NEIGHBORHOOD PARTIES

Some neighborhoods hold annual block parties. These neighborhood gatherings may include barbecues, potluck picnics and other festivities. Bouncy jump houses, pony rides and dunk tanks may appear. Still, what fun is it to dunk someone you don't even know?

My own subdivision has a neighborhood block party each summer. Everyone must wear nametags, since we do not even know one another's names. Neighbors who are running for slots on the neighborhood board use this opportunity to introduce themselves to others who live in the neighborhood.

FAIR-WEATHER FRIENDS

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood," sand Fred Rogers for decades on his perennially popular children's television program, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

Each year, as the cold weather departs and warmer days appear, neighbors begin emerging from their tightly sealed homes to work in their yards. Sometimes, folks will drop a trowel and wave to one another. Sometimes not.

However, as the "for sale" signs appear and disappear in the neighborhood, these milder days give neighbors an opportunity to size one another up again. After all, folks have wondered who lived in the blue house on the corner with the brand-new swimming pool. And we were not sure who purchased the brick ranch, although we saw a moving van there last month.

CAN A NEIGHBORHOOD BE TOO FRIENDLY?

Making a neighborhood more welcoming can improve the atmosphere for everyone. Basically, all it takes is a friendly attitude. Folks who make the effort can start a trend.

Once neighbors become friendly and familiar with one another, the entire neighborhood can become a safer and more sociable spot.

However, it is possible for a neighborhood to become too friendly. Personal boundaries are important, particularly in neighborhoods.

Remember "Wilson" on the old television sitcom, "Home Improvement"? The camera never showed his face.

In a neighborhood, where people make their homes, too much information can be a dangerous thing. Safety and privacy are important, although friendliness adds atmosphere. Guarded optimism and appropriate appreciation of neighbors is ideal.

What will it cost neighbors to greet one another?

Learn more about this author, Linda Ann Nickerson.
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