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Recommended Parenting Books, Videos, and
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| The National Effective
Parenting Initiative (NEPI) trusts that you
will find this edition of Tips on
Effective Parenting to be helpful in your
being the best parent to your children that you
can be!
Please consider
becoming a member of the National Effective
Parenting Initiative if you have already not done
so.
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(If you would
like to forward this newsletter
to family, friends or coworkers, go to
the end of the newsletter and click
"forward email' in blue on the left-hand
side.) |
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Video on Teen Dating
Violence and Other Helpful Free
Videos |
The National Center for
Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) has
announced that the Center for Disease Control
(CDC) now broadcasts public health videos through
the CDC.gov Web page and the first segment, "Break
the Silence: Stop the Violence," addresses the
topic of teen dating violence.
CDC staffer Leslie Dorigo writes in an
e-mail sent to NEPI headquarters, "It may
shock you to know that one out of every eleven
teens reports being hit or physically hurt by a
boyfriend or girlfriend in the past twelve
months."
But why is that, and how can we change it?
View this innovative video, 'Break the
Silence,' where real parents and teens discuss the
problem of dating violence and how to stop it
before it starts.
Click
here to view this 4 minute
video.
The video is the first
in the "Health Matters" series of on-line videos
found on the new CDC-TV Web page and premieres
work being done by the center's Division of
Violence Prevention (DVP) through the 'Choose
Respect' initiative.
CDC-TV is a resource for all
audiences, especially the general public.
Please share this information with family, friends
and colleagues and please encourage them to
provide feedback through the link on the CDC-TV
webpage.
For more information on all
CDC-TV videos, click
here. |
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Teaching
Children About
Politics
from The Professors House
Website
|
 Children are
curious about the world, and it seems no matter
how much information that you give them they are
continuously seeking more.
Political views are
typically something that children at least
initially pick up from their parents. Regardless
of a parent's political affiliation and viewpoint,
it is only fair to teach children about a bigger
picture so they can grow up informed and capable
of making their own decisions.
Teaching children
about politics can be either a path you choose for
them or a doorway to their own political
feelings.
This is a nice thought but how do you go
about giving them a big picture. A lot of children
find politics boring. Finding ways that political
decisions impact them and their family is one of
the fastest methods of not only attaining their
interest, but also showing them that political
decisions are important.
This, of course, is a little different
for every family. Some children personally know
family members or friends who are overseas
fighting in the war, one of the nation's hottest
topics right now.
Knowing someone who is fighting in a war
completely personalizes politics for a child. It
doesn't have to be all grim and horrid.
In fact, children usually respond better to
factual information. Giving them the facts and
then allowing them to ask questions to draw their
own conclusion can create a very critical
political mind.
To read the complete
article, click
here. |
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Talking with Children
About War by Alvin Poussaint, M.D. and Susan Linn,
Ed.D |
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 It's painfully
difficult to talk with children about war. And
given kids' access to media, it's almost
impossible to protect them from frightening and
confusing world events.
What we say to our children depends
on their age, the questions they ask, and our own
political and moral beliefs.
Whatever we feel about what's
happening in Iraq and other countries, we want to
encourage children to continue to be curious about
the world, to value peaceful resolutions to
problems, and to feel free to come to us with
questions and concerns.
General guidelines:
· Try to find
out what your children already know about the
situation in Iraq, and how they found out about
it.
· Let them know
that you understand that what is happening in Iraq
is confusing and complicated.
· Let them know you're glad to be
talking with them about it. Share your opinions
and feelings about the bombing, whatever they are.
· Allow
your children to express their own
opinions.
For more suggestions, click
here. |
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Guidelines for Family
Meetings
by Dr. Don
Dinkmeyer, Jr. |
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Getting into the habit of family meetings
takes time. Making the meetings work takes effort.
Here are some ideas to help you....
Meet at a regular time. A
regular time might be once a week. Plan to have
the meeting last from twenty minutes to an
hour.
Make a list of
topics. Some people call this list of
topics an agenda. Post it on the refrigerator.
Then people can add to it during the days before
the meeting. This helps you deal with the things
that are important to each person in the
family.
Plan the time. At first,
you will need to be in charge of this. Look at the
meeting list. Decide how much time makes sense for
each item on the list. Stick to the time
limits.
For more
tips, click
here. |
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Selling To
Kids
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 Children are
bombarded with advertising messages everywhere
they turn. Helping kids understand how advertising
works can help protect them from being exploited
by advertisers.
Start
by teaching kids under seven the difference
between a TV program and a commercial. Point out
commercials and use a timer to show them when the
commercial begins and ends.
Ask questions to help them recognize the
purpose of the commercial is to sell them a
product. What is the commercial selling? How does
the commercial make them feel? Would they like to
buy the product?
Once kids understand that advertising is
about persuading them to buy a product, they can
begin to identify other types of advertising
messages such as product placement, website games,
and guerilla marketing.
Watch TV or play a video game
with your child and find the products and logos
used as a prop or part of the storyline.
Have a conversation about how the messages
try to get you to buy the product.
For more key questions to ask about
any advertising message, click
here. |
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National Effective Parenting
Initiative Tips for
