Adolescents who live in urban settings regularly encounter a complex array of people and circumstances that require sophisticated decision-making skills. Using their personal standards, adolescents coordinate moral thoughts and emotions when deciding how to act. After defining what the author refers to as moral engagement, several empirical…

This guide is designed to teach foster parents, direct care providers, and house parents how to help children develop interpersonal relationship skills. The book focuses on developing the whole child through intellectual, psychological, and moral development. Specific techniques for creating a nurturing environment for children are discussed, as…

Notes infants' capacity for empathy and that the way parents respond to infants' natural selfish preoccupation as well as the behaviors modeled for them as they grow influence their manners and concepts of compassion, shame, and moral reasoning. (HTH)

Based upon the view that character development is not by and large the result of special lessons, but is rather embedded in and the product of the child's growth, this book focuses on how the intimacy of the ordinary day stimulates and enhances the child's potential for morality, devotion, and idealism. The book identifies general themes in the…

Concerned with practical aspects of meeting children's needs, this volume, the fifth of five on parenting, describes the nuts and bolts of parenting as well as the promotion of positive parenting practices. The volume consists of the following 19 chapters: (1) "The Ethics of Parenting" (Diana Baumrind and Ross A. Thompson; (2) "Parenting and…

This second edition merges new ideas in character education research with best practices in schools and districts. The book provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive framework for K-12 administrators, educators, and concerned citizens. It offers easy access to practical and proven methods supported by in-depth rationale. The book highlights…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module's learning objectives address: (1) child development within the context of family and social development; (2) the stages of cognitive, social, emotional, moral, and physical development; (3) the range of normal…

Using the premise that skills for living successfully are learned, not inherited, this book details for parents and teachers specific skills that parents can teach that will make a difference in children's lives. The skills have been consistently named by researchers, parents, experts, and educators as critical to success, and pilot-tested at…

Children learn to be caring individuals when they are raised in a considerate and sensitive environment. Suggestions for helping children be more aware of the needs of others are discussed. (DF)

In plain language, these six ready-to-copy briefs state what researchers and practitioners have learned about various ways parents can help their children do well in school. "Calculating the Risks: When Should Parents Add or Subtract?" discusses the normal risks of life, the intensification of risk by poverty, and how parents can keep…

This guidebook is designed to provide teachers, schools, parents, and other community leaders with the needed ideas, strategies, and resources to combine service learning and character education in meaningful educational activities for children and young people. The booklet contains seven short sections that provide an overview of character…

This booklet provides an overview of stages and levels of cognitive development. Particular attention is given to language skills, the growth of understanding and memory, levels of thinking, altruism, and conscience. The importance of parents' influence on the development of their child's thinking abilities is emphasized. Nine resources that…

Based on the assertion that current American culture neglects essential building blocks for males' character development, this book calls for a moral and ethical revival in the ways boys are raised. It is a parenting plan that seeks to protect and nurture male development from birth to adulthood. The book's first two chapters explore the…

This book offers ideas to help parents teach positive values to their children. The book suggests ways to teach children to have the courage to tell the truth; to understand the value of hard work and persistence; and to make positive contributions to their community, their country, and their world. It includes four sections on helping children…

Parents must help their children distinguish between wants and needs and put them in a balanced perspective. Children need to learn to respect differences in people rather than base their judgments on socioeconomic status. The article suggests ways parents can grab teachable moments to reinforce their values and decisions. (SM)