SUGGESTIONS FOR BUILDING ASSETS

Asset # 30- Responsibility

(Young people are responsible for doing the right thing and owning up to their mistakes) 

To Build Asset # 30 Parents and Extended Family Can . . .

* Don't rescue your children if they have done something wrong. Let them accept responsibility and face the consequences.

* Give your child chores, at least a few that are solely that child's responsibility. Start young and add on as the child grows. Example: Let kids have responsibility with the dogs: feeding them, handling health records, finding out about spaying, etc.

* When you give your children a chore to do, expect them to complete it. Praise them when they are responsible, and correct them when they are not.

* Give your children an allowance and let them be responsible for buying things other than necessities.

* Don't do things for your kids, even if it might be easier or quicker. Let them do things for themselves

* Model being responsible. For younger children, explain to them in concrete ways, "I can't let you have all that junk food, because part of my responsibility as your parent is to help you stay healthy."

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 60% of youth surveyed by Search Institute have this asset in their lives.*

*Based on Search Institute surveys of almost 100,000 6th to 12th grade youth throughout the United States

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"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do." -Helen Keller

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." -Abraham Lincoln

"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him." -Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery