7-Step Decision-Making Process
1. Stop and
Think
2. Clarify
Goals
3. Determine
Facts
4. Develop
Options
5. Consider
Consequences
6. Choose
7. Monitor and
Modify
In teaching our children how to
be a productive member of our society and to live a fulfilling and happy life,
character is a very important factor in their upbringing. We can consider six
important aspects of character to ensure success.
1) Trustworthiness
· Be honest;
don’t deceive, cheat, or steal
· Be reliable
- do what you say you’ll do
· Have the
courage to do the right thing
· Build a
good reputation
· Be loyal –
stand by your family, friends, and country
2) Respect
· Treat
others with respect; follow the Golden Rule
· Be tolerant
of differences
· Use good
manners, not bad language
· Be
considerate of the feelings of others
· Don’t
threaten, hit, or hurt anyone
· Deal
peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements
3) Responsibility
· Do what
your suppose to do
· Always do
your best
· Use
self-control
· Be
self-disciplined
· Think
before you act- consider the consequences
· Be
accountable for your choices
4) Fairness
· Play by the
rules
· Be
open-minded; listen to others
· Don’t take
advantage of others
· Don’t blame
others carelessly
5) Caring
· Be kind
· Be
compassionate and show you care
· Express
gratitude
· Forgive
others
· Help people
in need
6) Citizenship
· Do your
share to make your school and community better
· Cooperate
· Stay
informed; vote
· Be a good
neighbor
· Obey laws
and rules
· Respect
authority
· Protect the
environment
Showing your kids that you care
about them is an important part of being a parent. Focusing on the things your
kids do well, or the efforts they make to improve, is a great way to show your
kids that you care about them and provides vital emotional nourishment during
the turbulent teen years.
o Show your
approval
o Describe the
positive behavior
Make sure they know understand what they did well so they’ll be able to repeat
the behavior in the future
o Give a
reason
Teenagers benefit from knowing why a behavior is helpful to them or others, and
helps them understand the relationship between their behavior and what happens
to them
o Praise small
accomplishments as well as large ones
o Be sure to
tie praise to specific behavior
o Give rewards
occasionally
Talk to your
kids, not at them
v Be
tuned in
v Listen to what
they say to get information about what they’re thinking feeling
v Look for
connections between things they tell you at different times to track how their
thinking is progressing
v Pay attention
to the nonverbal messages (silent, moody, ask what is going on)
v Listen to what
your kids say about their friends or acquaintances
v Be tuned in to
their friends (who they are, where they live, what interests them, get to know
their families)
v Know where
your kids go and with whom
v Know your
kid’s interest
v Be available;
it’s not necessarily what you do with your kids that mattes as the time that is
spent with them
Parenting Websites
Teen Help - Lizweb
This web page was started by a teen who wants to help others. There are
connections here for teens with serious problems. Teens who are pregnant, have
run away, are addicted to drugs and alcohol, are depressed or thinking about
suicide, have been abused, have an eating disorder, or have serious illnesses or
disabilities can find help here. Here teens also have a place to share their
opinions and their personal stories.
http://www.mindspring.com/~ashe/
The Labor of Love
The Labor of Love is a pregnancy and parenting community where parents and
parents-to-be can access Internet parenting resources and meet each other to
share ideas and advice. Features include a pregnancy and parenting search engine
with over 1600 links to useful information; a searchable pen pal database with
over 500 listings; and a searchable collection of over 160 birth stories from
women around the world. Parents can publish their writings in an online prose
and poetry forum, post to over 50 message boards, or show off their children in
the monthly photo contest. Family Room Online Magazine is written by parent
writers, and has tips and hints for parents; there is also a section with
week-by-week pregnancy journals, and a bookstore.
http://www.thelaboroflove.com
The WholeFamily Center
This interactive site, geared to "everyone in every family," tackles sensitive
issues such as infertility, anorexia, divorce, and teen suicide with honesty and
common sense. Its marriage, parenting, and kid/teen centers use family drama (in
RealAudio or text with photos) to portray common family problems. Users are
invited to contribute opinions; each drama concludes with commentary from a
psychologist. An online magazine, The Fishbowl, has stories, poems and articles
written by parents, kids and professionals. An advice column, "Liz Tells All",
gives straightforward feedback, emphasizing traditional values. Users can
contribute to an ongoing soap opera about a "blended" family. The website also
refers families to professional services such as counseling and parenting
classes.
http://www.wholefamily.com
Convomania
Convomania is a place for seriously ill and disabled children on the Internet, a
hangout for kids who may be socially isolated because of illness or disability.
Here the kids can make friends with kids in similar life situations. "Convomaniacs"
are seeking straight talk about tough issues, and not necessarily from doctors
or parents. Here kids can get advice and encouragement from each other. The chat
room has monitored chats scheduled throughout the day. Kids can also sign up for
Maniax, an email discussion group. A yearbook displays pictures and bios of the
most active participants, so everyone can get to know each other. There's a
message board with some interesting discussions. A virtual exhibit hall displays
thematic drawings by kids. There are other areas, too, with more fun and
surprises.
http://www.mania.apple.com/
Another Empty Bottle
Current studies show that about 1 in 10 people in the United States suffers from
a drinking problem. That means that most of us know an alcoholic. It could be a
family member, a friend, or co-worker. The "Empty Bottle" symbolizes how
emptiness and hopelessness can enter someone's life when a loved one suffers
from alcoholism. Another Empty Bottle is a site for the friends and families of
alcoholics to share their common experiences. It includes links, information,
help groups, hotlines and stories related to alcoholism. All correspondence is
confidential.
http://members.aol.com/emptybttle
Family.com
How should a parent handle back talk? Do the new report cards encourage kids to
learn? What are the best values in software for your home computer? These are
some of the subjects covered in Disney's Family.com, a website with many
resources for families, with or without children. There are intelligent and
timely articles on parenting, relationships, fun and games for kids, education,
family computing, food, and vacations. More than 100 parenting publications from
North America are linked here; type in your state or province and you can access
publications with local activities for kids. You can also tap into thousands of
in-depth feature articles by selecting a topic and age group. Another useful
feature is a recipe database that will print out a shopping list of ingredients
for your chosen recipe. Visitors can also meet and exchange ideas in the
community forum or chat area, and post messages on the bulletin board.
http://www.family.com
Teen Court
Teen Court is a program for misdemeanor youthful offenders who have no prior
court record, but who admit to guilt and voluntarily agree to participate.
Specially trained teenage volunteers fulfill the roles of prosecuting and
defense attorneys, clerks, bailiffs, and jurors; an adult judge supervises. Teen
Court does not rule on guilt or innocence of the defendants, but determines
sentences. Volunteers sometimes include previously sentenced defendants.
Defendants who cooperate have a chance to clear their permanent records by
performing community service and other duties. Teen Court alleviates the strain
on the regular court system, gives offenders a second chance, and gives youths a
chance to p articipate in the judicial process. It also promotes better
communication between schools, defendants, parents, the community, the court,
and the police. Over 200 communities using Teen Court report 90 percent or more
of defendants who complete their sentences are never re-arrested. Communities
wishing to start their own Teen Courts will find a Procedures Manual, Bylaws,
and the necessary legal forms on this web page. Mock trials are given for teens
to enact so they can learn how to participate in the court. There are also
RealAudio interviews, statistics on juvenile crime, and useful Internet links.
http://tqd.advanced.org/2640
Interesting Places for
Parents
This is a list of links for parents. There are pointers to educational
resources, children's software, and pages of interest to parents and teachers.
Some of the parenting highlights: The National Parenting Center magazine,
misc.kids.computer, children's shareware, resources for children's writers,
Movie Mom's Guide to Encouraging Kids to Love Classic Movies, US Space Camp,
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, mailing lists and IRC, and
special links for dads, adoptive parents, and parents who have lost a child.
This website will help parents find children's books, videos, and CD-ROMs. Sites
of interest to teachers include NASA educational resources, school publishers,
classroom activities, National Public Radio, suggested reading lists for kids,
US Department of Education, college sources, EncyclopŠdia Britannica, and Urban
Education Web. Other interesting subjects here are how to set up a Web server at
school; HTML tutorial for kids and parents; educational uses of the Internet;
how to control your kids' access to the Internet using free software; child
safety at home, school, and on the Information Highway; and how to get your kids
onto the Net. There is also a section on Internet safety and censorship.
http://www.crc.ricoh.com/people/steve/parents.html
The Cartoon Corner
The Cartoon Corner is a safe and fun place for kids of all ages to play games,
solve puzzles, read stories and comics, learn to draw cartoons, and laugh at
jokes and wacky weather forecasts. This website contains over 500 interactive
pages with more than 1,000 illustrations by cartoonist Emmett Scott. There are
artist lessons and drawing tricks, and a funny pages section where kids can read
comics and try writing their own comic strips or punchlines. Children can have
hours of fun with the creative play and craft ideas. There are one-minute
stories, longer stories, and poems to enjoy. The brain-challenging riddles and
puzzles give inquisitive kids a chance to test their powers of memory and
observation, and their skill with words, logic, and solving mysteries. The site
also includes Internet safety tips for parents and children.
http://www.cartooncorner.com
National Fatherhood
Initiative
"Every man needs to know that however high his aspirations may be, however lofty
a position he may attain, he will never have a greater duty or a more important
title than 'dad'." This quote from George W. Bush appears on the opening web
page of the National Fatherhood Initiative's site. The NFI aims to stimulate a
society-wide movement to confront the growing problem of father absence, and is
dedicated to improving the well-being of children by increasing the number of
children growing up with involved, committed and responsible fathers in their
lives. A non-profit, non-sectarian, non-partisan organization, the NFI conducts
public awareness campaigns promoting responsible fatherhood; organizes
conferences and forums; provides resource materials; publishes a quarterly
newsletter; conducts research on fatherhood; disseminates information to men who
want to become more effective fathers. Visitors to his site can find conferences
and events on fatherhood; read articles with parenting advice, and the
Fatherhood Today Newsletter; meet and interact with others who have similar
interests; and read special reports such as the Fatherhood and TV Report.
http://www.fatherhood.org/
