Holidays: a time to connect with young people

For many families, as well as communities, this is the best time of year. Yes, because of the holidays, but also because the holidays mean many of our young people are returning to their hometowns for a few days or even a few weeks.

They are coming from college to celebrate Christmas with their families, but while they are home, they also get to do the things they loved when they were kids. This is also a great opportunity to check in with our young people about how their year is going and also help them reconnect with the community that raised them.

In McCook, that means stopping by the YMCA to get in a workout, play a game of pickup basketball or pickleball, or hang out at swim team practice. For many kids, the YMCA was the place to be after school until sports practice started until their parents could pick them up, or to just hang out in a safe space, so they naturally gravitate to the Y when they are in town.

Another spot that you hear many young people say they have to visit while home on break is Mac’s Drive-In. Somehow, the combination of orange and yellow booths with the homemade onion rings and fries is nothing that can be duplicated in another town. Also, Mac’s was another hangout for many kids on the early-outs on Wednesdays, so nostalgia makes it a mandatory stop over the holidays.

And there are many other places that draw young people in when they return home, whether it is a few hours at the movie theater; visiting one of the restaurants with fellow students who are home; or a quick stop by Knowlen and Yates, which turns into an hour because you get sucked into looking at everything that you didn’t know you needed.

With a few of my college kids already home for break and the older kids returning home over the next few days, I have watched how they spend their time and what they want to do. For the most part, they just want to reconnect with each other, with their families, and with their community.

The McCook Community Foundation Fund recently completed a youth survey with the McCook High School, which asked questions of all students in ninth through 12th grade.

Over the next few months, we will share data from the 2024 McCook youth survey, but there are a few key points to consider over the next two weeks with young people in town.

When asked what size town they want to live in, a majority say they want a similar size to what they grew up in, which means their current hometown is an option as a long-term home.

Another key takeaway that has risen to the top in recent years as a priority is safety. Young people are looking for a safe place to be, to hang out, and to raise their families.

It is great to see these young people back, even just for a visit, but this is also a great opportunity to plant the seed about them returning long-term.

When you see a college student at a restaurant, take the time to ask how their fall semester went, what their holiday plans are, and if there is anyone special in their life. But this is also a great time to pass along another idea: share how great it is to see them home and how great it would be for them to move back home when they are done with school.

We take for granted that our kids know that we’d like them close to home all the time rather than just on the holidays. Have you ever said to your child, or to your neighbor’s kid, or to the young person working at the drive-thru that they should live in their hometown when they are older? Have you ever literally said to a young person that we’d like you to move home?

They need to hear that they are needed and wanted in their communities, and there is no time like the present to make that connection with our young people.

With the holiday lights aglow and people in a festive mood, this is the best time of year to connect with our families, with our friends, and perhaps most importantly, y with our young people, who are going to be the ones to make McCook and our hometowns even better places to call home in the future.

On behalf of the McCook Community Foundation Fund Advisory Committee, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.