As a mom, I think about, reflect and wonder about the society our tweens and teens are living in.
Things have changed so much since I was young and friends would call and my parents would answer. I know they were worried, but I believe they had less to worry about. We were not listening to rap music that consistently devalues girls. We were not texting, I mean do you even know who your children are communicating with? Our social circles were a lot smaller, they consisted of friends in the neighborhood or school. Now teens interact with kids from many schools. Many parents think that just limiting Facebook is enough but what about formspring and instagram. Did you ever take so many pictures of yourself, I sure did not, but they do on snapchat.
Bullying is rampant and sometimes the teens do not even see it as bullying. They call people b**** in texts way too often. Google your child’s name, you may see things that scare you. The words they use were not even in our lexicon. Words that are rude, insensitive and even gross are used everyday, just as we said “like” “brough.”
Technology is influencing our teens brains in ways we cannot even yet comprehend. Dates, break-ups and more happen online and in text. As a parent, I think about how to coach our girls to value themselves and others. I even hear myself coaching their friends in the car, “We speak kindly to others,” “We use words that are ladylike and polite,” “Your online communications are cached for high school principals and college recruiters to read.”
Enter Annie Fox, a clinician who has spoken with thousands of teens and help us, as parents, learn how to talk with and protect our teens. We are all aiming at raising teens with character and respect who like themselves and treat others with kindness. But it’s a complicated world now and I for one, appreciate the help. In her new book 
Teaching Kids To Be Good People, Annie answers questions we often wonder about but do not ask. She speaks of the challenges our tweens and teens face and how to communicate, coach and guide to help them through this pretty crazy digital world.
We live in a time shaped by a viral culture of cruelty. Now and in the future, we desperately need more good people. But where will these young people come from? From the homes of parents with a game plan! In Teaching Kids to Be Good People, Annie Fox has written a very personal, step-by-step guide to teaching your children to make healthy choices (online and off). Because being good is not enough. We have to do good.
This very pragmatic and funny guide includes essays, podcasts, prompts, tools, questions, answers, and self-assessment quizzes, all for the purpose of teaching kids to be good people. Hopefully, you’ll become so engaged in this process that you will inspire your children to do the right thing when no one’s watching, and when everyone is watching.
Read it, discuss it with your kids, we have to work together to raise resilient, ethical kids in this complicated world.
Lynne, thank you so much for putting my book in such a relevant context for 21st century parents! Like you, I can deeply about the workings of our children’s moral compass. And I am proud to be on the same team as you are… helping kids, and the adults who live and work with them, to be the character educators our children need.