SRS Press Release
BRIDGING COMMUNICATION GAPS ACROSS GENERATIONS
Seminar held at Sikh Religious Society in Palatine
Palatine, IL: Sikh Outreach Society organized a Parent-Child, Youth-Adult counseling seminar at Sikh Religious Society Gurdwara in Palatine, Illinois on March 13, 2016, where 25 children and more than 30 adults participated. The topic of discussion was communication or lack there of.
"Bridging Communication Gaps across Generations" was an open dialogue between parents and children facilitated by Dr. Surinder Sucha Nand a Psychiatrist, who taught at University of Illinois Chicago, and youth counselors Jasvir Kaur Singh and Maneshwar Singh. The purpose of the workshop was to explore the day and age we communicate today within families, how has it changed and is it effective?
Blow-ups occur due to vagueness in communications which are mostly indirect and unclear and made at inappropriate timings without regard to other's feelings or what's going on in their lives at home, school or at work.
The seminar opened with a short skit displaying in a humorous way the current state of communication between parents and children. When children come home from school, there is very little or no personal communication due to smart phones, lap tops, video games, TV, and closed doors.
The cultural differences between parents who grew up in India and the way they were raised by their parents does not compare to the children growing up here and now which is creating issues. The control and punishment methods were also analyzed.
"Then how do we pass on our heritage to our children growing up here?" asked one parent. "Teaching your values with great love and patience!" was the answer that emerged.
Dr. Surinder Nand reviewed why the family nucleus is important and how we can improve our communication skills within our family. The participants learned about learning various styles of communication, how to be clear and direct as well as how to be good listeners.
"When I come home and ask my dad or mom for something they are always busy on Face Book or watching their favorite Indian TV show," said one child.
"When I grow up and become a parent, no matter what, I will never ever slap my child," said another child.
Pre-teens, teenagers and when time comes to getting married, all these situations have their own issues and challenges.
Overall, there was open and candid dialogue between generations and they gained a better understanding as to why parents ask so many questions and why children want privacy at certain age.
"The workshop was a great success and the feedback was wonderful. It was obvious that, the community is hungry for more workshops like this," said Rajinder Singh Mago.
Contact:
Rajinder Singh Mago, 630-440-7730
630-440-7730 FREE