|
|
Parenting Information
Character Education
Every parent wants their child to develop positive character
traits. One way to supplement your child's character
education is to act as a filter for the movies and
television shows your child watches, and to review the books
your child reads.The following categories are
modeled after "The Book of Virtues for Young People," an
excellent book for children in its own right, written by
William Bennett. When developing a curriculum of character
education for your child, it's helpful to review each
children's book, television show, and movie for both
positive and negative examples of each of the ten virtues
outlined in "The Book of Virtues for Young People." The
stronger the message, the more it will contribute to your
child's character education. Following are some ways
in which the virtues can manifest as character traits in
children's books, movies, and in television
shows:Self-Discipline: A character discusses his
feelings of anger rather than impulsively striking out. Or,
a character gets his chores done before he goes out to play.
Compassion: A character understands the pain or
suffering of a friend, and steps in to help, even when it
means she can't attend the party she was looking forward to.
Responsibility: A character admits it was his
baseball that broke the window, and offers to pay for a
replacement. Or, a character keeps her promise to babysit
her younger sister, even though she'd rather go to the
movies with her friends. Friendship: A character
stands up for her friend in front of her peers, even though
it's not popular. Or, a character befriends the class bully
in an effort to get him to change his ways. Work: A
character approaches her job with a positive attitude, and
does her very best even when her boss is being unfair. Or, a
character makes up a game to get through an unpleasant task,
and takes pride in her work even though it goes unnoticed.
Courage: A character is afraid of the raging waters,
but takes the risk and dives in to save her family. Or, a
character stands up for what he believes in, even though
it's unpopular. Perseverance: A character continues
to strive to make the basketball team, even though he's a
foot shorter than the other players. Or, a family works
together to keep their home, even though the father has lost
his job and the mother is ill. Honesty: A character
admits to himself that he isn't trying his hardest. Or, a
character talks to an adult about a friend in trouble, even
though the friend will get angry at her. Loyalty: A
character sticks with his losing soccer team in the hope of
helping them become better, rather than joining a winning
soccer team. Or, a character stays at her friend's side
during a serious illness or hardship. Faith: A
character reaches out to God to help him in his time of
need. When evaluating character traits and virtues
in kids' books, movies, and television shows, also look at
negative behavioral influences. Ideally, these influences
will be minimal. Consider, for example: Violence:
Does the character hurt himself, another person, or an
animal through his words or actions, and does he act without
remorse? Profanity: Does the character use foul
language, sexual language, or take God's name in vain?
Nudity: Does the movie, television show, or book
show or describe suggestive styles of dress or partially
clothed or nude characters? Sexual Content: Do the
characters engage in implied or overt sexual behavior, or do
they engage in aberrant sexual behavior? Drugs,
Alcohol, and Tobacco: Do the characters use or abuse legal
or illegal substances? Scary Elements: Are the
scenarios depicted gratuitously frightening?
Negative Behaviors: Does the character show
disrespect to his parents? Or, does he neglect his homework?
Or, does he frighten other children? By evaluating
both the positive character traits and negative behaviors of
movies, television shows, and books, and selecting those
that reinforce the values and virtues that are important to
you, you'll go far in developing your child's character
education.
Parenting Your Teenager: Of Course You Can Search Your Teens Room
Q. We recently caught our son smoking pot, and we wonder whether he's doing more stuff. We have reason to believe he has been hiding drugs in his room, and we're wondering whether we should go into his room to see whether we can find anything. Some parents we've talked to say yes. Others say, "Don't invade his privacy because you will lose his trust." What do you think we should do?
Parenting Your Teenager: The Bottom Line Issues
Q. When you consult with a family with teens, what are the typical bottom-line issues?
Parenting Your Teenager: Responding to a Poor Progress Report in School
Q. We just got our daughter's progress report, and it looks as if no matter how hard she works she'll get all C's and D's, when she had been getting A's and B's. What do you recommend to help her do better next nine weeks?
Parenting Your Teenager: Kids and Money
Most teens go into the work world ill-prepared to manage the money they will be making. Even if their parents have attempted to teach them about money, they still haven't had the wonderfully frightening experience we have all had. You know the one: It's called ``getting to the end of the money before the end of the month.''
Positive Parenting of Teenagers: Helping Your Teen Understand What I Cant Afford It Means
Because most teens have not had the experience of getting to the end of the money before the end of the month, the words, ``I can't afford it,'' have little or no meaning.
Is Your Teen Stressed? Teach Them How to Manage Their Time, Schoolwork, and Leisure Activities
I hear from many parents that their child is stressed out with schoolwork, tests, finals, finding time to study, and extracurricular activities.
How Fathers Can Step Up to Fathering
When our oldest son was 2, my wife went out of town for a weekend. When a friend of hers called and I told her she was out of town, she said
Parenting: Blending Familes - 9 Universal Laws
The law of -ing.
The Seven Keys to Child Obedience
Learning obedience is an important part of child development. This is the tool that allows you as parents to train your child. Through obedience your child will learn self-control and develop other positive character traits that he will need as an adult.
What Do You Do When Your Child is Smarter than You?
We adopted our first child when he was three months old. When we went to the agency to get him, he promptly stood up on my wife's lap and looked out the window. He was robust and happy, sleeping through the night from the beginning. In fact he was such an easy baby that we really wondered why parenting was considered to be such an ordeal. We found out later. In fact he was such an ideal baby that we assumed all were the same. Not so. Our second had colic and didn't sleep through the night for nearly two years.
10 Points on Children for the New Parent
I remember when my daughter was born, later my son. According to many well meaning individuals, I should?ve done this, should?ve done that and maybe improved in some areas.
Back to School Success: The Parents Job and the Students Job
Q. With another school year starting, we are not sure how to handle things with our teen-ager. Last year turned into such a battle, and we fear another year just like last year. Is there anything we can do to help make this a successful year?
My Stomach Hurts - I Cant Go to School Today!
It?s the third time this week that Sam has complained of a headache or Shaundra has an upset stomach. Daniel cries before leaving school and Tanya won?t get out of the car upon arrival to the school parking lot. Most parents simply don?t know what to do when this occurs. Does the parent insist the child go to school or allow the child to stay home and hope the problem goes away?
The Twenty-First Century Parent
John was a 43 year-old sales manager at a large company. He?s married and has 3 children, ages 7, 9, and 12. His wife works part-time as a nursing assistant, and they both do as much as they can to parent their children well.
More Articles from Parenting Information:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
41 |
42 |
43 |
44 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
48 |
49 |
50 |
51 |
52 |
53 |
54 |
55 |
56 |
57 |
58 |
59 |
60 |
61 |
62 |
63 |
64 |
65 |
66 |
67 |
68 |
69 |
70 |
71 |
72
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Whats Mine Is Mine
You are at the grocery store with your daughter and she pulls out her hard-earned fifty cents and begins to buy a candy. Your son is at home with his soon to be step-Dad and fifty cents is jingling in your pocket... so you buy the same candy in a "boy" flavor to prevent any arguments when you get home.
Who Will Be Their Guardian?
If you are like most people today, you do not have a will. The
reasons for this failure are many, with the most common being
along the lines of "I don't have enough assets to worry about",
"I don't know how to write a will", or "Lawyers charge a lot of
money".
Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) for Teen Drivers
Drivers 16 years of age have little driving experience, putting them at high risk for traffic accidents. A series of five research papers published in a September 2002 supplement of Injury Prevention addresses reducing this risk. The papers introduce and make a case for graduated driver licensing (GDL), the system of laws and practices that gradually introduce young drivers into the driving population.
Helping Your Kids Handle Divorce
Every year over one million parents have to talk to their kids about divorce. For each parent, the discussions differ, but the goals of the discussions are universal: to openly and honestly reassure your child of your love.
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream, But Not For Ice Cream!
We all scream for ice cream. Or, we don't, at least not anymore.
Parenting Your Teenager: 4 Dangerous Myths
MYTH: All teens have to rebel, and the teen years will be miserable years for a family.
What Do You Teach Your Children About Money?
Whether we realize it or not we teach our children about money every day. Sometimes we teach with words and sometimes with actions. I'm sure at one time or another the following scenario as happened to you or something close to it: "Mom, can we go buy some toys?" You say, "We don't have the money for that right now." Your children reply, "Just go to the ATM and get the money." You then make a comment to the effect, "There has to be money in my account in order to get money from the ATM." I still remember the first time I had that conversation and my children's jaws dropped. It never occurred to them that you had to have money in order to get money out of the ATM machine. They just saw the ATM as the cash machine ? Free money. Don't we all wish that was true!
Keep the Little Ones Safe, Follow Pool Safety Guidelines
Pool safety should be on the minds of every parent out there. If you are lucky enough to own an above ground pool or inground pool, you know there are certain safety precautions you must take to protect your children and the children of your friends and neighbors. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 300 children under age 5 die and 2000 more children under age 5 visit hospital emergency rooms for submersion injuries every year. That's staggering. Some of the Sun Belt states list drowning as the leading cause of accidental death in the home of children under 5. These accidents usually occur in pools that are owned by their own family. These accidents happen quickly and a child can drowned in the time it takes to answer the phone. Usually the child that is in trouble is silent as there is no splashing around alerting anyone that they are in trouble. Medical costs are staggering and if the severely injured sustain brain damage, the expenses are even higher. Because of the dangers of a pool in your backyard, most cities require specific guidelines be followed for safety. As a homeowner and pool owner there are things you can do to prevent these accidents.
Speaking on Behalf of Our Children: Stop Blaming the Victims
How many times have you flipped through the pages of a magazine or newspaper and seen images of children with captions like "Brats," "Bullies," or "Mean and Selfish"? Unfortunately, these are common occurrences in today's media. For some child advocates, these images serve as a call to action: We need to do something to help America's so-called "out-of-control" children. The problem is, while these negative images are a wake up call, they are not doing anything to help troubled children. In fact, they only add to the problem. By labeling children brats, bullies, or mean and selfish, we are imposing the very same behaviors on them that we teach as being wrong.
Teaching Reading: Part One
One of the biggest milestones in our children's education is when they learn how to read. You've probably asked yourself, "When is the best time to teach my child to read?" You can research this until you are blue in the face, but the answer is really very simple. You've already started, because from the moment your child is born, you are teaching him. We talk to our babies. We read to them. We sing to them. We recite silly little verses while we change their diapers or put them in their car seat. We hug and cuddle our children. We play with them. We laugh with them. We read to them.
When Your Chicks Leave the Nest
When my son was 18 (and had finished school), he moved into a flat with two of his mates. They were boys we'd known throughout his high school years and the flat was only ten minutes from home, but I cried for two weeks!
Home For The Holidays: Ask Yourself Some Questions
Annie easily slipped into becoming the sole caregiver of her parents. What started out as monthly grocery shopping for them, over the course of 2 years became a full time duty, an overwhelming burden and just about broke her emotionally and financially.
Why Wont My Child Do as I Say?
In speaking with parents a comment I frequently hear is "My child won't listen!" Repeated attempts in trying to get a child to co-operate often lands on deaf ears and leaves parents feeling exhausted and helpless. Frequently we say things we later regret and become riddled with guilt. Usual attempts often include nagging, yelling, spanking, time out, lecturing and threats. Despite consistently not getting the results we're looking for, we resort to the same methods time and time again. We usually use what we were taught to use by our own parents. Although we often resolve to ourselves that we will do things differently and not resort to some of their methods of parenting, we do. It seems to be automatic. This is not intended to be an article about blaming our parents, rather an understanding of why we do what we do and provide some alternative responses. There were no parenting courses for our parents and they all did the best they knew how.
Handling Failure -- Teaching Kids How to Profit From It
There is nothing pleasant about failure, at least not at the time that it happens! Failure embarrasses us, feels bad, and often costs us money. Little wonder that people avoid failure like the plague.
Child Communication Skill: Do You Really Know What Your Child Is Saying To You?
Here's the scene of communication with your child: your three-year-old boy is bawling his eyes out. Hurriedly, you run over, and ask "What's wrong?". But no answer is spoken, the tears just keep coming out, and the vocal cords just keep on saying "waaaaaaah!".
Parenting Your Teenager: What Parents Say About Teens
What is hard for parents
Calming Tips for Hyperactive Children
Parents of hyperactive children know the "Would you please just settle down?!" phrase well, and likely use it on a regular basis.
Back to School Care Packages!
I am crying tears of joy mixed with great sadness as my oldest daughter prepares for her freshman year of college at the University of Maryland in the fall. She has already told me I am to send care packages.
Stroller Safety Tips
Strollers offer a wonderful and convenient service to parents and caregivers. The first priority in choosing a stroller should be safety.
Simple Indulgences for September
As the kids go back to school, you can go back to *you*...your schedule, your friends,
your goals. Here are ten simple indulgences to celebrate this season.
|
