Douglas Dragoneer

A New Year!

By: Beth Gargan, PTA President

Welcome to a new year. I appreciate that the Character Trait selected to focus on in January is Self Discipline. With a new year symbolic of fresh starts so many of us feel that our quota of self-discipline could use a boost. The definition of Self Discipline that is adopted by the Wake County Public School System includes: “Demonstrating hard work and commitment to purpose; regulating yourself for improvement and restraining from inappropriate behaviors.”

Self Discipline at Home:

The Teaching Character, Parents Guide by Dotson & Dotson offers these ways to encourage self control in your child:

~Be sure to recognize and give your child praise whenever you see him or her practice self-control.

~Model self-control in how you act and react. ~Remember they learn by watching you.

~Learn and then teach ways to handle stress. A family activity they recommend is to develop a list of strategies for responding with self-control when you feel angry and post them in a prominent spot. Another way to have on the spot learning is to discuss how a sports player during a game you may be watching exhibits self-control and what the consequences are when they don’t.

~Help your child set limits on their activities to prevent stress from building up.

~Remind your child that the more self-control he or she displays, the fewer rules are needed.

In other words, when discipline comes from within there is less need for discipline from without. One could say therefore, that trust of that child grows in the same proportion. No small thing.

Teach your children these five self discipline actions for school:

1. Eyes watching, 2. Ears listening, 3. Hands still 4. Brain Thinking & 5. Heart Caring

Quote of the Month:

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us”-- John Dryden