Family Matters

Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters (YBBBS) creates and professionally supports one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the promise in our local youth.

Arlene and Kloe’s match demonstrates the mission well. Matched for more than five years and still going strong, the pair celebrated Kloe’s high school graduation in May 2022, along with nine other graduating Little Brothers and Sisters from the agency.

Positive Child Experiences, also known as PCEs, are advantageous or benevolent childhood experiences that promote positive development and resilience among youth. Researchers have found that positive experiences can protect kids from the negative long-term effects of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), leading them to become healthier, happier adults.

So how do we, as a community, create more PCEs for all of our youth?

On a recent beautiful summer’s day, Big Sister Rebecca Finken took her Little Sister Abigail on a paddleboard adventure on Prescott’s Watson Lake.

This match made by Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters (YBBBS) is based on trust, friendship, and having adventures like paddleboarding to show Abigail, 10, what the world around her has to offer. The pair participate in video chats and projects, try out the local climbing gym, visit area attractions, and sometimes just hang out and talk.

All parents and caregivers will need help at some point. Normalizing this is a huge step in supporting families in our community.

While well-meaning people are quick to say, “Let me know if you need anything,” when we see a family going through a tough situation, it’s rare that someone actually takes them up on the offer … because it’s vague and because asking for help is hard in a society that celebrates independence and grit.

“I just finished ‘Parent Nation’ by Dr. Dana Suskind. Folks, this is it. It beautifully articulates why we, as a nation, must support parents. If we want to promote child wellbeing and prevent child abuse, we need to support parents. If we want economic prosperity, we need to support parents. If we want a healthy nation, we need to support parents.

The book outlines why and how the U.S. doesn’t have things like paid parental leave and affordable quality childcare, and why that needs to change. In the name of preventing government overreach, we’ve left U.S. parents with nothing but bad options.

One concept in the discussion struck her most: the best thing any parent or caregiver can do to promote the well-being of a child is to be present.

In this case, “present” means that the parents and caregivers can be attentive and connected when they’re with their children.

There’s a parable about a woman who walks by three men working on a building site, each doing the same thing.

The woman asks the first man what he’s doing. “I’m hauling bricks,” he says.

She asks the second man what he’s doing. “I’m building a wall,” he states.

She asks the third man what he’s doing. “I’m building a cathedral,” he answers.

The men are all doing the same action, but their answers show how different they are framing their purpose.