PARENTS TOOLBOX
dr. berkowitz’ blogs - tips for parents
Ain't it the Truth?
Honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, or whatever you want to call it, is a cornerstone of good character. So what is a parent to do? How can we help foster honesty in our kids?
Ain’t it the Truth?
Adjusting the Apron Strings
As parents, we need to think hard about juggling the balls of freedom and control. We need to think about what is really safe and what is not, but also what will breed the healthy form of independence that all our kids need to have to make it in the world.
Adjusting the Apron Strings
Back to School
It takes character to succeed both in school and in life. And parents are the primary source of kids’ character. So make sure you start packing character into your kid’s life now!
Back to School
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll
Parents have the greatest influence on important deep values even in adolescence. Adolescents’ moral, religious, and political values have much more to do with their parents’ values than with their peers’ values. Check out teen thoughts and parental impacts on Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘N Roll
Part 1: Sex | Part 2: Drugs | Part 3: Rock 'n Roll
Videos
Dr. Berkowitz’ Tips for Parenting teens
CLICK HERE to check out eight brief and informative videos about parenting teenagers.
Be an Agent of Good
Parents Impact on Character
Helping your Teens Find Direction
How Human Goodness Differs in Families
Parenting for Good
How Being Good Impacts Health
Parenting Tools to Handle Challenging Moments
What are Your Parental Priorities
articles & Chapters
Democratic Parenting
Marvin W. Berkowitz - Parenting for Character: Five Experts, Five Practices, D. Streight, Editor, Portland: CSEE Publications, 2007
When we think about parenting, lots of ideas typically come to mind: love, protection, guidance, discipline, communication, etc. . However, I want to make an argument that we should be considering the concept of democracy when we think of parenting and families. I hope both to offer some support for the power and relevance of democracy in families, and to suggest some ways we can be effective democratic parents. When the founders of this great and daring experiment in self-governance that we call a democracy first crafted the blueprints of the United States, they understood that such self-governance depended on the character or virtues of its citizens. They also understood that families...
Read the full chapter
Early Character development and Education
Marvin Berkowitz and John Grych - Early Education & Development, Volume 11, Number J, January 2000
“It is a well-worn refrain that more attention must be paid to the moral character of our youth. Such pleas are prevalent in the mass media and in professional forums, and typically are justified by data reflecting the misdeeds of youth…” “This article represents an attempt to investigate what we know about character development in early childhood, in order to suggest how we can effectively promote character in early childhood education.”
read the full article
books
Click on the images to see the books at the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education web-store.
“We asked several of the foremost names in child development and education to offer their practical wisdom for helping young people grow in goodness, compassion, understanding, development of the spirit, and more. What they offered are treasures, both readable and of tremendous importance. Each expert’s suggestions are presented in short, almost bullet-point format, easy to read and written specifically for educators and parents in independent schools, but relevant to parents and educators everywhere for character education.” - CSEE
Click here to purchase from the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education
“Four decades of research point to five practices that, when implemented by parents, lead to the development of children who are altruistic and empathic, and who have strong consciences and moral reasoning skills. In this booklet, five of North America’s leading child development researchers and character education trainers explain these practices. This booklet was written with an independent school parent audience specifically in mind.“ - CSEE
Click here to purchase from the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education
Parenting is not for the faint-of-heart. In this book of essays, Dr. Marvin Berkowitz, one of character development's leading educators, offers his wit, wisdom, and experiences on the joys, surprises (and everything else in between) on raising children. We've put together a compilation of the best of Dr. Berkowitz's syndicated newspaper columns, offering insight, advice, and strategies for parents with kids of all ages.
Contact the Center for Character and Citizenship to purchase Parenting for Good