As a lifetime fan of Nittany Lion football, an alumnus of Penn State, a current Penn State employee of 11 years, and a father of three living in State College, I have been struggling to make sense of all that’s happened over the past nine months and to figure out what to say to my kids. While I continue sorting this out, here are a few thoughts to consider:
Action ideas:
•Keep perspective on who the real victims are. While it’s difficult for all of us associated with Penn State and living in Centre County, let’s remind ourselves and our older children that it pales in comparison to the lifelong anguish that victims of child abuse all over the world live with every day.
•Focus on what we can control. Explain to kids that we can’t control what others think, but we can control the decisions we make and how we treat other people.
•Don’t stop believing in who we are. It’s important to remind our kids that Penn State and Centre County are still great places with great people, from the 100,000 outstanding students and employees currently enrolled and working at one of our 24 campuses, to the 500,000 alumni doing great things in the workplace and in communities all over the world, and to all the families and neighborhoods that make Centre County one of the greatest places to live.
The local fathering effort, in cooperation with the National Center for Fathering, provides biweekly Action Ideas to stimulate conversation between fathers and parents. For more information, or to join local conversations, contact David Eggebeen at e5x@psu.edu, Mick Trombley at mick@micktrombley.com, Robert Orndorff at rmo104@psu.edu, Chris Dufour at chrisdufour19@gmail.com
or Marc McCann at marc@thesecondmile.org.
