For Your Journal: Writing Prompt

Do you keep a journal – or wish you could get one started? Literary Mama wants to help.

Three times a month, I’ll post a writing prompt. Open a notebook and write for 10 minutes. Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation – just write. Then let the writing simmer and your mind wander for awhile.

And who knows? Maybe you’ll discover a character for your next short story or a theme for a narrative essay. Or maybe you’ll use the idea to create a special holiday card or photo album for someone in your family. However you decide to use your journal entry, I know you’ll enjoy re-reading it months–and years–down the road.
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It’s no secret that today’s family is more mobile than the family of previous generations. We raise our children to be explorers and go confidently into the world–and we’re happy they have more opportunities than we did–but are there enough children in all sections of the country to be tomorrow’s workers and community leaders as the Baby Boomers retire?

A study from the Urban Institute, published in February 2010, reports: “Of the 10 metro areas with the highest percentage of children, nine are in California or Texas. Not one is in the Northeast or Midwest. By contrast, six of the 10 metro areas with the smallest share of children are in the Northeast (in Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, and Massachusetts), and another two are in Florida.”

This is noteworthy, the study continues, because “Only about one-third of public spending on children is federal. Unlike the elderly, who get more federal support, children mostly depend on state and local revenues.”

Journal Entry: Compare your childhood neighborhood with that of your child’s. Do you live in the same community in which you were raised? The same area of the country? How are the activities and opportunities your child has different from those of your childhood? Can you say one is better than another?