Yesterday morning when I was getting ready for work I was deep in thought about how to raise children in a society full of depression. Whether its a momentary self doubt or full on depression… I think we can all relate.  And I say that with a layman’s mind towards mental health, so I don’t pretend to be an expert… other than the fact that I have dealt with a wide range of depression.

SO… trying not to get to too heavy or too deep, I’ve been thinking about the best way to approach my children as a loving father/mentor/coach/(cook, maid, chauffeur etc), and here is what I came up with:

For years we (society) have told our children (the next generation) that they need to put themselves first. Take care of yourself FIRST.  ME, ME, ME.  Even being “social” doesn’t require a real connection with people.  We cherish taking selfies and having multitudes of people look into our “perfect” lives through Instagram/Facebook/snap chat (which has filters to make me look 10 years younger!!!!).

If existence is a Facebook feed or a tweet, what does that mean?  It means that we have lost the ability to have a real connection through real communication.  We have taught our children that if they have a thought… post it and be done.  If that doesn’t work post it LOUDER.  We have become so attached to a screen with thousands of “friends”/”followers” that when we look up from that screen….. NO ONE is around.

and then we wonder why we are alone.

Take some time and concern yourself with others… You’ll be happier, they’ll be happier, especially this time of year.

So the next time someone asks you “what do you want for Christmas”… Tell them “I want you to be happy”