Good Kids, Tough Choices

A practical analysis and inspiring guide for teaching kids"ethical fitness"Parents are beginning to realize that deficiencies in ethics andcharacter are becoming a big problem among our nation's children.According to the latest data, lying, cheating, and rampantinsensitivity to other people are increasingly common. What canparents do? In this book, ethics expert Rushworth Kidder shows howto customize interventions to a child's age and temperament. Heencourages parents not to give up, since what they do can alwaysmake a difference, regardless of how long or deep the bad habits ofdishonesty may be.* Encourages parents to intervene early and re-establish childrenon the right course* Explores the keys to ethical behavior: honesty, responsibility,respect, fairness, and compassionAll of Kidder's practical advice is based on the latestpsychological and neuroscientific research about how kids developcharacter and learn what's right and wrong.

Acknowledgments.Introduction: Three Lenses for Ethical Parenting.How to Use This Book.What If I Face Ethical Dilemmas of My Own?1 Raising Kids in Today's Moral Environment.What the Research Tells Us.Why Parents Make a Difference.2 Birth Through Age Four.Branson and the Gold Coins.Teaching Responsibility.Playing According to Your Own Rules.Loren Wrecks the Train.3 Ages Five Through Nine.Teaching Thrift in an Age of Opulence.Teaching Ethics Through Principles.Ethics and Peer Pressure.4 Ages Ten Through Fourteen.Resolving Ethical Dilemmas.Zero Tolerance.Avoiding Bystander Apathy.Showing Moral Courage.5 Ages Fifteen Through Eighteen.Finding the Third Way.A Sexual Crisis.Caught Stealing.Confronting Parental Weakness.Explaining Divorce.6 Ages Nineteen Through Twenty-Three.Counseling, Not Controlling.Supporting Your Daughter or Saving Your Grandchildren.The Difference Between Courage and Stubbornness.7 Conclusion.How Emotion and Morality Interact.Using the Moral Toolkit.Top Ten Tips for Ethical Parenting.Notes.Glossary.Further Reading.About the Author.Questions for Discussion.Index.