Although I live in Detroit, cradle of the auto industry, and thus have anxiety attacks on a daily basis about what will happen if GM goes out of business, we’ve been pretty insulated from the worst of the recession so far. It’s more because my husband works in academia and I am a freelance writer so it’s not like we had any money to begin with, but I definitely feel lucky that we aren’t facing foreclosure or significant loss of income (knock wood) like so many of our neighbors.
One of the many things that breaks my heart about this recession is the effect on kids. It’s not their fault, they didn’t make any of the irresponsible decisions that helped bring the economy down, and yet they are facing the loss of their homes, significantly reduced standards of living and worse.
Teachers and school counselors are seeing an increase in mobility among lower income families due to the recession, and this was a group that already moved around a lot as their fortunes rose and fell. Teachers tell stories of kids who start school one week before standardized testing begins and are just lost, who are sleeping on a couch at Grandma’s because their family lost their home and needs a place to stay, who face a new school with no friends in the middle of the school year.
I feel so bad for these kids – my family moved a lot when I was a kid and it sucked, and we were, as middle class people, insulated from the myriad other difficulties faced by a low-income family. And I did live through a parental job loss when I was in college, and even then when I wasn’t living at home the stress and anxiety my family was facing affected me a lot.
My only point here, I guess, is be nice, and teach your kids to be too. If a new kid shows up midyear, encourage your kid to maybe sit with them at lunch or get to know them, because chances are things are hard enough for this kid at home and a little kindness can make a big difference.
