The news is filled with stories of families fleeing Ukraine, and your children may be asking challenging questions about these heartbreaking situations. As a parent, I want to protect my children from great sadness and information they may not be ready for, but I also want them to learn empathy, kindness, generosity, and compassion for those in need.. Children who learn they can make a difference become adults who change the world for the better.
The Magic of Music
Music can be magic: it can make us healthier and happier, reduce stress, and connect people across cultures. At home, music can not only calm and soothe children, it can also improve memory, increase academic skills, and encourage creativity. Plus, there’s evidence that regularly playing music together can increase empathy. Here’s how to use music to bring more joy, compassion, and hope into your family’s life and the lives of others.
Beyond "I'm Sorry": Teaching Children to Apologize and to Forgive
Children as young as four feel better when they receive a sincere apology from a playmate after being hurt. The key word: sincere. Coercing children into offering apologies fails to comfort the victim -- and the wrongdoer learns little more than how to feign remorse. Here are a few tips for getting beyond the begrudging "I'm sorry." This approach can cultivate empathy, help children learn to manage emotions, and improve behavior.
How Consumerism Undermines Your Child's Well-Being – and How to Fix It
Think of all the ways our homes reflect consumer culture: overflowing toy boxes, jam-packed drawers, gadget-filled garages. Unfortunately, too much focus on material possessions damages our well-being – and that of our children. … The message being delivered to our kids is that consumer goods bring happiness. As parents, we have the power to counter and control this. Here's how…
4 Big-Hearted Parenting Trends You May Want to Embrace
Most of us have a love/hate relationship with parenting advice. It can be annoying, contradictory, or even atrocious. But it can also be revelatory and occasionally life-changing. It can make us feel like a failure or provide new, eye-opening possibilities for responding to our parenting challenges.
Best of DGT™ 2017
The ideas and links below represent some of our favorites among all the unique materials, programs, and activities we're continuously generating to make it fun and easy for parents, youth leaders, and educators to pass along the values of compassion and kindness. Check out our picks below, and be sure to subscribe to our blog, newsletter, and/or volunteer listing service so you can easily find all the good we create in 2018.
How to Be a Hurricane Helper
The images of Hurricane Harvey's devastation in Texas and Louisiana are heartbreaking and frightening. But we have also been heartened by the stories of those who have stepped up – even risking their own lives - to rescue their neighbors. There are things your family can do to help, too. Take this opportunity to talk to your children about how much you admire these big-hearted heroes - and how your family might follow their example.
Growing Up Digital
Managing screen time is challenging because electronic media can be so alluring -- and even habit forming. We recommend creating a family media plan to help the adults and kids in the house develop a healthy digital diet. Meanwhile, you'll be providing opportunities for critically important (and continuing) conversations with your children about how to handle a technological onslaught that will only grow.
The Benefits of Being Curious
Studies suggest that curious personalities are associated with humor, playfulness, life satisfaction, good relationships and open-mindedness. Not surprisingly, curiosity also encourages life-long learning. (Some studies even indicate that curiosity, along with hard work, might be as important as intelligence to academic performance.) Another reason to encourage curiosity is that it's deeply intertwined with kindness and empathy. Here are ways to nurture curiosity in your children while teaching them compassion at the same time.
Girl Power - Nurture an Undaunted Daughter
For Kinder Kids, Mind the Manners
Emily Post, the queen of etiquette, famously said: "Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use." At their core, manners are simply about caring for others. Teaching good manners requires patience, persistence and practice, but it's worth the effort.