Married... with children

Second in a series about how to grow Brandon's population. 70,000 appears to be a tipping point where communities are large enough to attract "more".

In the first post, I had referenced research that shows that once the kids move away from home they don't come back. So how do we attract them to Brandon- or to return to Brandon?

When asked to describe Brandon, many people say it's "a great place to raise kids!". We have great schools and lots of recreation. Brandon is a safe city. So what do we need to do to market Brandon to young families? First we need to find out who to talk to and then we need to build an effective message to give them.

The work-life balance is undergoing huge shifts. Some of the most innovative (there's that word again!) and successful companies have come to understand that employees with children are far more productive in a family-friendly work environment. Competition for talent is becoming fierce, and if Brandon is going to move beyond entry level minimum wage jobs, we're going to have to have the labour force to do it.

Daycare options are critical for any working parent. Safety, easy transportation, affordable housing, parks, recreational facilities, organized sports are naturals. But parents want an enriched environment for the children so music and dance lessons, community theatre, art classes for young people are also all part of the strategy. An appreciation for heritage, the de rigueur memberships in museums, and youth groups are also important to parents. And interestingly enough, and maybe in response to the increasing globalization of our society- diversity is also an asset when attracting young families.

So we know what we have, now how do we use it to bring more young families to Brandon.

• reach out to young people who have moved- or better yet, don't loose touch with them in the first place. With Facebook, online newsletters, webpages, and the marvel of "Mom's" network, it is easy to stay connected. Make sure they know about the new water parks, the job opportunities, the national rankings that put Brandon in the top ten.
• Young people here know young people "out there". Maybe they went to school together, maybe they're now related. Use these social networks proactively to promote the City.
  
• Create family-friendly environments. The City could take a leadership role but leading by example, by encouraging the business community to also be family-friendly, by creating a family friendly city- events, facilities, public policy, day care advocacy.
• Make sure the city is affordable. It makes no sense to talk about the importance of sports or music in building our community if many families can't afford to participate.

Of course, in addition to attracting families to the city, we also enrich the family experience for the parents and children who are here. Family friendly means that Brandon builds on its strengths and becomes a place that gives children and teenagers the freedom to explore, discover, and self-express with tolerable levels of risk. Kinda' like being a parent.