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Life Skills: Integrity is being true to yourself

When it comes to integrity the most important thing you can do for yourself is to be yourself — 100% yourself.  If you are a young person should you change your favorite color, food or activity – just because someone else has a different favorite color, food or activity?  Of course not.  You have to be you!

Sometimes though we may feel timid or afraid to be ourselves as we try to fit in with the group that we are with.  All of us like the idea of being accepted by others, but doing so at the cost of not being who we are can make us feel bad about ourselves.  When we are true to ourselves we are showing integrity, and we have confidence in who and what we are.

Changing who we are to fit in with others may not allow us to enjoy the things that we are really good at and we may not be as happy with our choices in the long term.  I often think about children who choose to go into an activity or a teen that applies to certain colleges, because that is what is expected of them and not because it is what they enjoy doing.

When we are true to ourselves, our friendships and relationships will be very honest.  Eleanor Roosevelt said, “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously.”   This is how character is built.  Having the courage to be 100% authentic is how you build great character in yourself and great relationships with others.

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Confessions From a Child Development Expert: (My Not So Perfect Children)

Dr. Robyn Silverman is Balanced Life Skills child development expert who provides us with guidance on building character in children of all ages.  Up to a couple of years ago her and her husband had no children of their own, so as a father of 4 myself, I knew that when they had their own children — well it just brings a new perspective.  I really enjoyed her musings in this article she wrote today.  I hope you enjoy it also.

Confessions from a Child Development Expert

All parents appreciate having that third voice that supports all that we do as parents.  Balanced Life Skills offers not just the physical part of the martial arts, but also character and confidence development to all of our students.  We invite you to try our classes and to follow what we are doing here on our website.

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Life Skills: Respect – How To Respect Teachers

We all have people we respect.  When we ask students about who they respect, they come up with names of famous athletes and other famous individuals for all kinds of reasons.  Many of them will say their teachers or one special teacher.  They appreciate their teacher for a number of reasons including, “they are nice”, “they help me”,   “they let us have…”.   But showing respect for the teacher can be more difficult for them to understand.

Talking to our children about how to respect teachers is important for parents to do, and not just from the point of view of “not getting in trouble”.  Showing respect for them can be done by listening in class, not calling out, by waiting to be called on to answer, following the rules of the classroom, completing assignments, asking for help.

All teachers appreciate students who have good manners in school and who work well with them, but they especially appreciate when a student takes the time to say thank you.  For some of us we wait till we are older and then go back and say thank you, but everyday is an opportunity for our children to learn the value of a sincere thank you for what our teachers do for our children everyday.  I encourage all parents and children to take the time to think about and then thank a teacher for the value they add to our lives.  They make a big difference in our lives and saying thank you is important for them and us.

Each year Balanced Life Skills recognizes the teachers in our community by inviting them to visit our school and their students.  Continue reading “Life Skills: Respect – How To Respect Teachers”

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6 Dangerous Trends: Bullying: What is Bullying?

Bullying Prevention Begins with Knowledge About Bullying

bully prevention starts with knowledge of bullying behaviorBullying is a relationship issue where power and aggression are used to affect another person.  The bullying behavior is done intentionally and is repeated over time.  This behavior is not a one time event that can be seen as a usual type of conflict between individuals.  The person who is the aggressor develops power over the person who is the target, and as time goes on if left unchecked, the target loses power while the aggressor gains power.  The target of this behavior can become increasingly powerless to stand up for themselves.

Bullying others may give some a sense of power over their target and a feeling of importance that they may be having a difficult or perceived difficult time obtaining with more positive social behaviors.

Bullying is not a problem that only children have to deal with.  Nor is it one that is limited to boys being the perpetrator.  While bullying behavior seems to peak in middle school, it begins as early as second grade.  Teachers and parents may even be able to see signs of bullying tendency in children as young as preschool aged children.  Do not mistake though that the behavior that affords dominance and social status stops when children leave school.  This behavior may continue well into adulthood and statistics show that 60 % of children who practice bullying behavior will have criminal convictions by the age of 24.

What is your knowledge of bullying?  Take a quiz and see how many myths about bullying you hold?     What Is Your Knowledge About Bullying Quiz