Character Building from KidsDiscuss.com

Building Character ~ 3 Affirmations Kids Can Give to Parents

 

"Building Character Starts with Getting Your Kids To Talk."

Parenting Tips by Jean Tracy, MSS, for grades K-6:

Dear Parent,

You give affirmations to build self-esteem in your children, right? Your children can build self-esteem in you too. Affirmations can be a two-way street. You and your kids can say kind specific words to each other. When you do your family will blossom. Here's how it works:

Sit down with your kids, perhaps at a family meeting, and teach your children how to give you affirmations. Here are some ground rules to tell your kids:

 

• Make sure the kind words are what you really think and feel about me and dad.
• Make sure the affirmation is about dad's or my specific behavior.
• Make it short.
• Discuss why you think and feel those kind words about us.

If your child doesn't know what you mean, discuss these examples:

1. "Mom, I like how you hug me when I come home from school."
2. "Dad, I like when you laugh at my jokes."
3. "Mom, I like when you hold my hand."

To get your children to discuss their affirmations ask or say:

• Tell me more
• Why do you think that?
• Do you want me to do more of that? Why?

Could I be a fly on the wall when you teach your children how to give affirmations? Better yet, tell me the results in the comment section below.

If you liked these tips, consider using my family meeting book. It's designed with 52 ready-to use-family meetings. Pick it up at:

The Family Meeting Diary

Subscribe to my Free Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 fun activities to share with your kids at:

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Become a better parent. Send me a parenting question and I'll send you a parenting surprise. Just email your question to:

Jean Tracy's Email

With warm wishes for your parenting success,

 

Jean

Jean Tracy, MSS

 

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Building Character ~ How Dilemma Discussions Promote Solutions from Kids

 

"Building Character Starts with Getting Your Kids To Talk."

Parenting Tips by Jean Tracy, MSS, for grades K-6:

Dear Parent,

A little girl was acting up in the car. The little boy sitting beside her said, "Mrs. Smith, you need to call her dad. "Calling her dad might not work," she answered. "Then you can call my dad. He'll spank her."

Does your child act up in the car? Are long trips the worst? Inside you'll find a dilemma to discuss with your child before you take long car rides. It will build her character too.

Discussion Dilemma:

"Your parents are driving you from Oregon to Disneyland for your birthday. It's a very long drive. You're getting grumpy. How would you like to behave? What might you do to help you behave?"

Parenting Tips for Asking Questions:

• Realize it's natural for kids to get restless.
• Listen to your child's answers.
• Find out what she could do to make the drive easier.

Many parents offer solutions to prevent their kids from complaining. Some parents yell. Others might spank. The trick is to find out from your child what will work.

Perhaps she'll come up with a bunch of suggestions and say, "We could play a magnetic game, read a book out loud, or play a car game like "Who can find the most Fords on the road?"

If the solutions come from your child they'll work better than if they come from you. You won't be frustrated coming up with fun things to do only to be met with grumpiness. By discussing the car dilemma ahead of time, you'll be preventing a tough car ride. You'll be building character too.

If you liked the above parenting tips, become an expert parent and pick up 50 more dilemmas at:

Dilemma Discussion Kit

Subscribe to my Free Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 fun activities to share with your kids at:

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Send me your parenting question and I'll send you a parenting surprise. Just email me your question to:

Jean Tracy's Email

Best wishes for your parenting success,

Jean

Jean Tracy, MSS

Building Character and Keeping Secrets with Family Meetings

 

"Building Character Starts with Getting Your Kids To Talk."

Parenting Tips by Jean Tracy, MSS, for grades K-6:

A brother and his sister were talking to their neighbor. She had just commented on how well they get along. "Sometimes we argue," said the boy. "We always make up," said the girl. Then she added, "Sometimes our parents fight." "Yeah," said the boy. "But you don't want to be in the same room when they do."

Do your kids tell tales out of home too? Would you like them to keep quiet about what happens at home? Inside you'll find a way to help them remember that what happens in the home stays in the home. You'll be building character too.

Parenting Tips for Keeping Family Secrets:

I remember getting scolded when I was a little girl for being a blabber mouth. It didn't help. I still wasn't sure what to keep private and I still blurted out family secrets.

Unfortunately, my parents didn't know about family meetings. They didn't know that a family meeting discussion could have solved the problem. They didn't know how to include our ideas in the discussion. They didn't know that my brother and I could make commitments to keep the family business quiet. They didn't know that we could post our commitments on the refrigerator as reminders. If they had known about family meetings, I wouldn't have been such a blabber mouth and I would have kept my commitments because I loved my family.

The next time your kids announce to the neighbors what you don't want them to know, consider holding family meetings. You'll be building character in your kids too.

If you liked these tips, consider using my family meeting book. It's designed with 52 ready-to use-family meetings. Pick it up at:

The Family Meeting Diary

Subscribe to my Free Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 fun activities to share with your kids at:

http://www.KidsDiscuss.com

Send me your parenting question and I'll send you a parenting surprise. Just email me your question to:

Jean Tracy's Email

Best wishes for your parenting success,

Jean

Jean Tracy, MSS

Parenting Tips ~ Giving Chores and Allowances to Kids

"Building Character Starts with Getting Your Kids To Talk."

Parenting Tips by Jean Tracy, MSS, for grades K-6:

Here is a parenting tip from my friend, Carmen Hanna:

"Have your child earn his allowance. When you give your child an allowance make sure he understands the value of his earning it. Tell him that each member of the family provides services to the family and is a valuable contributor." – Carmen Hanna, Mother, Grandmother, Marriage and Family Therapist.

I like Carmen's idea about having children earn an allowance. An allowance teaches kids:

1. They are valuable contributors to the family.
2. It rewards them for chores done well.
3. It teaches them the value of money.

Children learn they are helping the family. They are valuable contributors to the family work. Chores offer them a deeper feeling of belonging.

Taking pride in their work is a family value. It's important to teach your children to do their chores well. When the work is poorly done, you can tell them to do their chores again or reduce their allowance.

Some children spend their money right away. Much of what they buy is eaten or broken. Often they have little or nothing saved for something they would really like. This is a good lesson for them. It's important that you don't buy them the bigger item. Let them keep spending their money on candy and other little stuff. If you can hold back from being too generous, they'll learn to save.

Raise well-adjusted kids. If you liked this parenting tip, pick up my FREE Parenting Tips, 21 of the Best. You'll find them at the top of the page at:

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I invite you to subscribe to my Free Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 fun activities to share with your kids at:

http://www.KidsDiscuss.com

What parenting questions would you like to ask? When I receive your question, I'll send you a parenting surprise. Just email me at:

Jean Tracy's Email

Best wishes for your parenting success,

Jean

Jean Tracy, MSS

Subscribe to our Free Parenting Newsletter at

http://www.KidsDiscuss.com and receive

80 fun activities to share with your kids.