Teenagers don’t have a clue about love. And, unfortunately, the models they have for love in our culture focus mostly on infatuation, romance and sex. For teens to learn how to love fully and realistically, they need to practice being in love. They are going to need help in recognizing it and giving it room to grow. What’s a parent …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Responsibility (cont.)
Teach it. Being a Responsible person requires a number of specific skills. Your kid will need help developing them. Self control. Responsibility requires the ability to resist impulses and delay gratification in the service of longer term goals. Your kid will need practice dealing with frustration and remaining calm and focused under stress. Make your kid wait. Require them to …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Responsibility
def. (noun) accountable or answerable for your actions If your kid is going to accomplish anything, they have to take personal responsibility for making it happen. Responsibility is directly tied to success. Responsible people are both proactive in addressing issues and hold themselves accountable for the consequences of their actions. Responsible people are trusted, they are given greater opportunities and …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Kindness (cont.)
Teach it. Kindness is a combination of several different qualities you can help your kid develop. Here are some worth cultivating. Empathy. Kindness, like other prosocial Character-istics (e.g., Compassion, Generosity), requires understanding of others feelings; viewing things from their perspective. It is important to help your kid “walk a mile in their shoes.” Take the time to talk about how …
One is Not Enough: 9 Skills We Learn From Having Siblings
Adults have to share their lives and living space with other people; family, friends, spouses or spouse equivalents, children, roommates. Unfortunately, even people you love can be a pain, (especially when you share a bathroom). So where do kids learn to deal with people they love but who drive them crazy? You need look no further than their annoying, beloved …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Kindness
def. (noun) benevolent, considerate and helpful Kindness, particularly in the form of altruism, does a person good; so much so that it appears to be hard wired into our system. People who are mean and selfish are likely to be shunned; those who are kind, considerate and helpful are liked and valued. Acts of kindness reduce stress, increase the release …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Honor, Pt 2
Teach it. While research suggests that people have a natural tendency to be fair, there are also lots of experiences (and cultural messages) that encourage kids to think only of themselves. There are a number of qualities that underlie a sense of Honor. Define honor. Honorable people treat others fairly. Fair, just, equitable, right, good sport; these are a few …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Honor, Pt 1
def: (noun) fair and respects the rights of others One of the primary ways that societies regulate the behavior of their fellow citizens has been through an emphasis on honor; upholding it, defending it, living with it. In many considerations, honor represents the whole collection of Character-istics, similar to Character and integrity. However, in this column, honor represents a specific …
New Year’s Eve
It’s the biggest party night of the year when everyone is encouraged to throw out the past and celebrate the wondrous possibilities inherent in a new beginning. Out with the old, in with the new! Put the past behind you. Look to the dawn of the very first day of a new year! Start the New Year with a bang! …
Encouraging Adolescent Career Interests
I spent some time with parents from Harvest Hands during our monthly parent discussion group talking about things parents can do to encourage their kid to be aware of and examine a wide range of possible career options. In between making kids pick up after themselves and breaking up sibling arguments, parents also need to help kids develop into happy, …