Right from Wrong: Instilling a Sense of Integrity in Your Child - Hardcover

Riera, Michael; Diprisco, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738205451 ISBN 13: 9780738205458

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2002

Synopsis

Does your child have a conscience? Is he remorseful when caught in a lie? Very high on any wise list of dreams for our children is the hope that they become people of integrity. But integrity is not simply something that happens as a result of unconditional love, healthy genes, or good luck; it emerges, if it does, because parents make it a priority to exercise influence in this arena. Combining stories of children experiencing the day-to-day struggles of growing up with compassionate, in-depth analysis and pragmatic counsel, Right From Wrong makes nurturing the qualities of integrity tangible to parents and to the others who might be actively involved in guiding a child's moral life. Through the authors' wise and discerning eyes we witness children as they experience loss or sadness, react to sibling rivalries, schoolyard violence, and academic pressures, or even while they interact at the family dinner table. The ways in which parents use listening, praise, discipline, honesty, and consequences to react to these situations reinforces a child's sense of right and wrong; from these choices readers will learn valuable lessons about a parent's power to nurture character and morality in young children.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Riera, Ph.D., is one of the country's foremost authorities on understanding children and teenagers. Mike has written or cowritten five books related to teenagers and their parents. Currently, he is the head of the Brentwood School, an independent K-12 day school in Los Angeles.

Website: MikeRiera.com

Joseph Di Prisco, Ph.D., is an educator and writer who has taught for more than twenty years in public, independent, and Catholic schools, middle school through college. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Reviews

Almost a sequel to the authors' Field Guide to the American Teenager, this book is aimed at helping parents instill a moral sense in children ages five to 12. The authors briefly introduce the concept of integrity, defining it as "the compass within each of us... only with integrity do our journeys achieve meaning." Each of the chapters begins with a specific case study and dialogue between parent and child illustrating a specific point from lying to dealing with illness to believing in Santa Claus to handling bullies. The authors show how the parents handle the particular situation and then offer some suggestions for how to deal with variations of the basic situation. While many parents, especially first-timers, will find the authors' tone reassuring and the advice somewhat helpful, the book is less penetrating than readers might have hoped. The authors don't offer enough suggestions for parents; instead, they're more concerned with explaining how the parents might feel rather than offering prescriptive advice on how parents should handle some difficult conversations. Parenting presents many challenges and there are few absolute right or wrong ways to handle situations, but given the stresses of today's working parent, a more hard-hitting approach would have made for a more useful book.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Riera and Di Prisco, coauthors of Field Guide to the American Teenager (2000), turn their focus on integrity, the internal sense of right and wrong parents want so much to instill in their children. Building a sense of integrity in children doesn't occur by happenstance, but can be consciously and creatively achieved, the authors pronounce. They advise parents on how to lay the foundation in young children to ensure development of integrity by adolescence, when they are most confronted with ethical and moral decisions. The authors examine a variety of issues related to discerning right and wrong in situations ranging from after-school fights and overwrought emotions at sports events to cheating, emerging sexuality, and shoplifting. Each chapter includes representative narratives of parents and children confronting ethical issues in everyday life and advice to parents on taking advantage of these incidents to help form a strong sense of knowing right from wrong. Parents can use listening, praise, and discipline, as well as punishment and the "integrity conversation." A helpful resource for parents. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738205451
• ISBN 13: 9780738205458
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256