The proliferation of social media has had a tremendous impact on our society in ways both positive and negative, and social media is not going away. As parents and guardians, it is our responsibility to teach kids how to use social media properly, and avoid the pitfalls and consequences associated with poor choices on social media.
One of the biggest challenges of parenting a teen is giving him or her the freedom to make their own decisions and learn from mistakes, while still doing your best to ensure their safety. As a parent, it is your responsibility to set behavioral guidelines and expectations for your teen, but lecturing your teen about sex, alcohol, drugs, and other risky behavior may not be the best approach. Most of the time, lectures do not help your teen make the right decision in the stress and emotions of the moment.
Acknowledging the effects of others’ hard work on their community, students create a photo and text exhibit that examines the careers of individuals in the community whose work they respect.
Throughout high school, teens will face circumstances that will challenge their decision making, particularly when experiencing peer pressure.
It is important to assure your teen that they have a safe place where they can confide in an adult. Reassuring your teenager that they can share their challenges free from judgement will encourage future conversations.
Taking a proactive approach and discussing potential peer pressure scenarios will arm your teen with tools and strategies to cope when situations arise. Instead of telling your teen what to do in a situation, try the approach of posing questions, like those found on the Integrity-in-Action Checklist.
Discuss class expectations of fairness. Then create a play about holding themselves and one another accountable to ensure the classroom is one of fairness and equal opportunities.
Students will practice caring by writing a letter to a peer that details the good in that person.
Much has been written and said about the importance of building resilience, grit, and a growth mindset with students. In fact, several research studies show that resilience and growth mindset may be as, if not more important, predictors of future success than IQ or Grade Point Average. Helping your student develop a growth mindset may seem daunting. You cannot simply force another person to think a certain way. However, there are activities that, when done daily, can influence the mindset of your teen in a positive direction.
Help students understand how critical trustworthiness is to successful schools, friendships, communities, and relationships.
Homecoming and Prom are important high school milestones. These social events provide opportunities for your teen to make memories with their friends that will last a lifetime. As a parent, these events likely stir a wide range of emotions. You probably enjoy watching your child grow and enjoy these special moments, but they may also make you a bit anxious. After all, now is the time you hope all your work in teaching your teen good decision-making skills will pay off.
Provide students an opportunity to become more aware of their behavior by documenting their strengths and weaknesses in terms of personal responsibility.
Students will discuss how they can show respect and support of those who are different than themselves.
For many teens, receiving their driver’s license is a rite of passage. For many parents, it is a time of anxiety. Parents must help their teens learn how to be responsible by giving them the freedom to practice making their own decisions, while still setting limits and guidelines for their decisions. In other words, parents and teens need to negotiate an agreement that satisfies the most important objectives for both parties – freedom for your teen, and safety for you.
Ready or not, as your teen enters middle school and high school, they will begin to navigate a world of new emotional and sexual interests. You can set your teen up for success by both teaching and demonstrating what healthy romantic relationships look like.
Sometimes, teens lose sight of what respect, caring, and trustworthiness look like in a healthy romantic relationship. We want to help teens understand how to respect and care for their partner’s feelings and opinions, respect for their own body, and make good decisions that build trust rather than diminish it. It is also important for your teen to respect the rules of dating you set as a parent. Complete the activity below to help your teen understand what each Pillar of Character looks like in a positive relationship.
Help students think about and prepare for what caring looks like and sounds like in challenging circumstances.
Middle schoolers want more freedom and want to exert their personality and independence. So, as a parent it is important to coach them through this new phase with opportunities to build trust, take ownership and responsibility for their choices and consequences, and to demonstrate some autonomous decisions. However, it is also our duty to protect them from some of the decisions that are still too big for them to make on their own. So, think about creating some harmony in the decision-making process, and relinquishing some control to allow them to build autonomy and independence.
Volunteering is a fantastic way to teach responsibility to your children. There are a lot of opportunities in most communities, for your child to get involved. Discuss the options as a family and try finding something that your child is interested or passionate about, as this can create even more incentive to volunteer.
Provide students an opportunity to review the parallels between trustworthiness and loyalty.
It is hard to be a tween / teenager today. There are a lot of pressures and negativity that adolescents must manage. The amount of stress students face today can negatively impact their health and their attitude. Thus, as parents it is important to act as positivity guides and help them to battle the noise of the world with some healthy methods. Positivity has a lot of power and can fuel healthy bodies. Research shows that it does not take a complete change in the situation to affect the body. So, here are some healthy suggestions to provide a dose of healthy, healing and positive properties to your child’s life.
Teaching our children to persevere can be one of the most important parts of our job as parents. So, finding ways to capitalize on events in their lives that can promote perseverance is vital to their growth in this area. One way to do this is to get them involved in a sport or activity. Learning the new skills needed to progress in an activity can provide opportunities to encourage them through failure and setbacks.
Learning is a lifelong process; therefore, it should be something our children see us doing as adults daily as well. So, as a family consider the 4CS of learning in your own home, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking. Utilize the suggestions below to help your entire family embrace the 4Cs of Learning.
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