Small & Simple Things
Read aloud with your children.
Building Assets at Home
Children and teenagers need you to recognize the ways they can—and do—make a difference. You can help empower them by recognizing the good they do, encouraging them to make a difference, by keeping them safe, and by giving them opportunities to serve others.
Here are some ideas to help you get started, adapted from "Pass It On! Ready-to-Use Handouts for Asset Builders" from Search Institute.
- Have a regular family night to do something fun together
- Regularly work together, at home or doing service.
- Eat at least one meal a day together as a family
- Model coping skills when difficult situations arise
- Write down what you believe; post it where you’ll see it often
- Talk about your values and priorities and live in a way that is consistent with them
- Set boundaries and explain the values behind them
- Encourage passion and interests
- Give your children lots of support and approval
- Learn about your own cultural heritage and celebrate it at home
- Vow to say one encouraging thing to someone each day
- Listen when your children talk about their sense of purpose in life
- Teach them how to be safe wherever they go
- Be the role model that you want your kids to be
- Reflect on one good thing that happened each day and share it with your family
- Identify something each family member is good at and learn from them.
- Don't let your family watch too much television