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positive values

50 Gifts that Grow Happy Kids, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

50 Gifts That Grow Happy Kids

Don’t you love the excitement an unexpected gift brings to a child? I remember the way my daughter eagerly anticipated the arrival of Santa Claus and how each gift brought joy to her face. Some toys or stuffed animals became favorites for many years to come. But most gifts brought […]

Compass-Inspired
Raffi: Advocate for Children, Earth and Music, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

Raffi: Advocate for Children, Earth and Music

Many of our cherished memories are tied to childhood and music. Today, neuroscience is beginning to understand how music heals the body, influences our emotions, sparks creativity, and even connects us with nature. From infancy onward, I tried to fill my daughter’s life with melody – from classical to folk […]

Compass-Inspired
Mentoring Youth: Being a Good Teacher and Helpful Friend, by Varda Meyers Epstein

Mentoring Youth: Being a Good Teacher and Helpful Friend

Robert Moskovits began mentoring David* at a summer camp when David was 12. For the next four summers, the two spent time together during camp sessions, chatting about the deep stuff in life. Even after David was too old for camp, Robert stayed in touch, calling him from time to […]

Resourcefulness
Teaching Children Perseverance and the Value of Work, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

Teaching Children Perseverance and the Value of Work

America Rice, age 11, recently expressed her views about hard work and perseverance: “If you want something,” she said, “you have to earn it. Everything is not going to come to you just when you want it.” How do children grow up to think and feel like America Rice? How […]

Resilience
All Children Have Special Needs, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

All Children Have Special Needs

Do you parent, teach, or mentor a child with special needs? Of course you do! As you know, the term special needs is most often associated with disabilities. It usually refers to a child who needs special assistance or accommodations for medical, psychological, or learning deficits. But have we allowed […]

Self-Awareness
Mindful Warriors: Meditation for Teenagers, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

Mindful Warriors: Meditation for Teenagers

Can meditation positively affect teenagers’ lives? Absolutely it can! Research in neuroscience and attention provides evidence that meditation strengthens the neural systems of the brain that are responsible for concentration and generating empathy. Becoming more mindful helps children and adolescents better regulate how life circumstances impact their mental health. I […]

Self-Awareness
Entitlement: Feelings that Follow Students to College, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

Entitlement: Feelings that Follow Students to College

You’ve likely heard the term entitlement, defined by the American Psychiatric Association as “unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with expectations.” In today’s college environment, a new term has emerged called academic entitlement. It refers to a student’s expectation that they receive high grades, regardless of performance. While it’s […]

Resilience
David McCullough Jr. Claims Everyone is Special, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

David McCullough Jr. Claims Everyone is Special

When David McCullough Jr. delivered the commencement address at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts in 2012, it turned out to be more special than anticipated. Why? Because McCullough was gutsy enough to speak words rarely heard by teenagers. “You are not special,” he said. “You are not exceptional.” As he […]

Compass-Inspired
The Role of Heroes for Children, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

The Role of Heroes for Children

For thousands of years, heroic stories have been used to inspire, motivate, and transfer cultural values to children. The stories have a common pattern. They begin with a likeable hero who encounters a challenge or roadblock in life. And then, with the help of others, the hero emerges from the […]

Resilience
Teachers Change Lives through Service-Learning, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

Teachers Change Lives through Service-Learning

Jake Bernstein, age 17, is a great example of how service-learning changes lives. In fact, in one of President Obama’s annual “Back-to-School” addresses, he praised three extraordinary high school students for giving back to their communities. One was Jake Bernstein. Jake volunteers with Autism Speaks and co-launched StLouisVolunteen.com with his […]

Empathy
Popular Youth Development Articles, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

Popular Youth Development Articles

Whew! I wrote over fifty articles this year on the topic of positive youth development!  My articles were accessed by over 50,000 unique readers, tweeted thousands of times, reprinted in more than 20 online publications, and even translated into several languages! I am honored by your support. Thank you! In […]

Compass-Inspired
How to Instill Compassion in Children, by Marilyn Price-Mitchell PhD

How to Instill Compassion in Children

How do children learn to care? How do they feel connected to their communities and know they can make a difference in the world? The answer isn’t as complex as it might seem. Like many college students who became committed to social and environmental causes, Danielle talked about developing compassion at a […]

Empathy