Raising Calm & Compassionate Kids With Susan Dermond

--Laura S.

You are wise to want to choose more uplifting characters for your children to emulate. However, if your children see media or spend a lot of time with other children who do, it's very difficult to steer their interest into more inspiring avenues. Peer influence is strong. â??You can try getting your children involved in media that celebrates more virtuous characters. Has your family watched the movie Anne of Green Gables? I know of two girls who dressed as Anne and her friend Diana one year. Or you can try steering them away from being a person or character into creating a costume as an inanimate object, such as a computer or candy jar (one of the cutest costumes I ever saw was hard candy in wrappers safety pinned all over a kid's clothing).

Ultimately, though, if your child is determined on a certain persona, you have to decide whether or not this battle is important enough for you to thwart your child's will. If this type of thing arises often, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of seeking a community of friends whose values are more like your own. â??