MARCH 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 49
PARENTING POSITIVELY
RAISING OPTIMISTIC TEENAGERS
BY REBEKAH YAHOVES
Raising a teenager can be a swooshing
roller coaster of sugar-sweet joys and
quiet disappointments.
In the midst of the adventure, you
may fi nd yourself playing the pivotal
role of a cheerleader. Suddenly, it has
become your job to rejoice in your
child’s triumphs and help them overcome
self-doubt. Optimistic kids keep
their dreams on the horizon and stay
motivated to be at their best no matter
what they face.
“Kids are willing to take more chances
when they are optimistic,” says Lisa
Rutigliano, a teacher of Advanced
Placement Psychology and Child Development
at Valley Stream Central
High School. “It opens so many more
doors because they see everything as
an opportunity.”
An optimistic outlook can make kids
AUDUBON SOCIETIES FOR THE BIRDS
When an abnormally large amount
of birds were found to have fatally
struck buildings at Stony Brook University
in 2018, the members of the
Four Harbors Audubon Society flew
into action.
At issue were mirrored windows on
several tall buildings that birds flew
into because the reflection looked like
clear skies ahead, killing and stunning
dozens of birds. The solution was
found to be 4-inch by 4-inch stickers
that reflect ultraviolet light, signaling
to birds to avoid the area — but the
light is invisible to humans.
“Most people consider bird-glass collisions
to be an urban phenomenon,”
John Turner, conservation chair for
the Four Harbors Audubon Society,
told the crowd at a recent lecture on
the issue. “When I began learning
about this issue a few years ago, I felt
similarly. I thought, ‘it must be the
really tall skyscrapers in Manhattan,’
but it turns out that less than 1
percent of bird mortality is caused by
high rise buildings.”
Collisions with buildings between
four and 11 stories make up about
56 percent of bird deaths and structures
between one and three stories
account for 44 percent, according to
a 2014 study published in The Condor:
Ornithological Applications. And
between 365 and 988 million birds
die annually from colliding with
windows, according to the American
Bird Conservancy.
The trend comes amid troubling
recent news for birds as a species.
Researchers announced
in September that
North America
was found to have 3
billion fewer birds now
than 50 years ago — a
loss of a quarter of
avian life.
To help turn the tide,
Turner now regularly
speaks on the topic of birds
hitting windows, hoping to encourage
the public to be kind
to man’s feathered friends by
using bird-friendly window
treatments and stickers
to lower the incidence of
fatal bird strikes.
“There is a lot we can
do,” Turner said.
“From working on one building
to trying to set state and federal
legislation into motion,
there is substance to this
issue and the human
impact that caused it.”
-TB
FAMILY & EDUCATION
ACTS OF KINDNESS
happier, more successful, and more
resistant to stress.
How can you raise an optimistic teen?
Let’s take a look.
SET ATTAINABLE GOALS
“It is important to give kids attainable
goals that are moderately challenging,”
says Rutigliano. “These build a
sense of confi dence. So many teens
have a lot of negativity in their lives,
and that is what they come to expect
from themselves and their future.
Attainable goals give them a sense of
optimism on a small scale that they can
carry throughout their lives.”
Your teen may be able to do their
homework without being told, or cook
a meal by themselves. Praising them
for little successes shows them that
you have confi dence in their maturity
as they become independent young
adults.
PRAISE HONESTY
Kids are perceptive,
and they will be able
to see right through
any false hope you give
them.
If your
child is
an aspiring
track
star, don’t
tel l her
she can
easily beat
the comp
e t i t i on .
R a t h e r ,
notice the
times she
was able to
outperform
herself, and
encourage her
improvement.
CHANGE THEIR
SOUNDTRACK
Kids who are getting negative
messages through the
media all day will be
more likely to believe
them. Make your own
soundtrack with upbeat
songs that encourage
and inspire. Play it
while the family is
doing the dishes or
cleaning the house on
the weekends.
Positive parents raise
optimistic kids. Model
finding the hope
and overlooking the
negative in every situation,
and your kids
will develop the skill.
Teaching teens to be hopeful
starts at home. (Getty Images)
Birds need humans’ help
avoiding windows. (Getty
Images)
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
