Lickona - How to raise kind kids: and get respect, gratitude, and a happier family in the bargain

Every so often there comes a book that is as satisfying intellectually as it is useful. In How to Raise Kind Kids, Thomas Lickona has given us just that. Not only does this wonderful book raise interesting issues of morality, it also provides a practical guide to ensure that children are brought up to be kind and good citizens. In uncaring and confusing times, what could be a more worthwhile project?

A LEXANDER M C C ALL S MITH , author of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series

Tom Lickona is an American hero. I dont know anyone who has done more to help parents and educators raise children who care about the greater good. In this wonderfully wise, engaging book, he nimbly draws from many disciplines to inform the art of parenting to cultivate kindness, bravely wading into the muddy challenges parents face today, including our toxic political culture, addiction to screens, and a parenting culture that can fuel entitlement.

D R. R ICHARD W EISSBOURD , co-director of Harvard Universitys Making Caring Common program and author of The Parents We Mean to Be

Parents, educators, and perhaps all of society owe Tom Lickona a debt of gratitude for this latest contribution in his lifelong quest to develop in young people the ability to know the good, want the good, and do the good. He combines the skills of a first-class scholar and an adept storyteller to present a blueprint for instilling in children the vital virtues of compassion, empathy, and social responsibility. It should be a basic text for all those who take the job of parenting seriously.

M ICHAEL J OSEPHSON , founding president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics

Todays children are faced with a plethora of distractions, especially from electronics, which can affect their ability to listen and be sensitive to the presence of others. Dr. Lickona reminds us that kindness begins in the home with positive parenting but also depends on leaders who are positive role models.

D AVID P . S ORTINO , author of A Guide to How Your Child Learns: Understanding the Brain from Infancy to Early Adulthood

A treasure trove of traditional wisdom backed by modern science that should grace every parents nightstand.

M ICHELLE C RETELLA , MD, FCP, president of the American College of Pediatricians

Over the last thirty years, no one has surfaced more useable research and practical wisdom on character formation than Tom Lickona. Now he brings together the best of his insights in a book filled with helpful information and real-world advice. This is the ideal book for thoughtful parents and teachers.

K EVIN R YAN , director emeritus of Boston Universitys Center for Character and Social Justice

Reading this essential book was addictive. It addresses the character issues we must face if we hope to build a better, more productive, and happier society.

D OUG K ARR , president and CEO of Character.org

A gold mine of practical suggestions for bringing out the best in our kids.

H AL U RBAN , author of Lifes Greatest Lessons

This wise and practical book reminds us that in a world where children often lack a shared moral lexicon, the indispensable virtue of kindness has the power to increase their life satisfaction and bring many benefits both to them and their parents.

J AMES A RTHUR , director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues

How to Raise Kind Kids masterfully weaves Dr. Lickonas deep human sensitivity together with strands of age-old wisdom, practical experience, and compelling findings from twenty-first-century research. A rich parental resource for nurturing kindnessand characterin kids.

D AVID S TREIG HT , former executive director of the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education

PENGUIN BOOKS

HOW TO RAISE KIND KIDS

T HOMAS L ICKONA , PhD, is a developmental psychologist and the founding director of the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Respect and Responsibility) at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he won national recognition for his award-winning work as a professor of education. He has been called the father of modern character education. His eight books on character development include Raising Good Children, Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility (the bible of the character education movement), and Character Matters. He received the Sanford N. McDonnell (Sandy) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education. A past president of the Association for Moral Education, he is an adviser to Harvards Making Caring Common project and partners with the University of Leeds on the Narnian Virtues character education project. He speaks around the world to secular and faith-based groups on the subject of fostering good character in families, schools, and communities, and writes a blog for Psychology Today called Raising Kind Kids (www.psychologytoday.com/blog/raising-kind-kids).

Also by Thomas Lickona

Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues

Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility (winner of a Christopher Award)

Raising Good Children: Helping Your Child through the Stages of Moral DevelopmentFrom Birth through the Teenage Years

Smart & Good High Schools: Integrating Excellence and Ethics for Success in School, Work, and Beyond (with Matthew Davidson)

Character Quotations: Activities That Build Character and Community (with Matt Davidson)

Sex, Love, and You: Making the Right Decision (with Judith Lickona and William Boudreau, MD)

Moral Development and Behavior: Theory, Research, and Social Issues (editor)

Character Development in Schools and Beyond (coeditor with Kevin Ryan)

PENGUIN BOOKS

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street

New York, New York 10014

penguin.com

Copyright 2018 by Thomas Lickona

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

ISBN 9780143131946 (paperback)

ISBN 9780525503736 (e-book)

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

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Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.

Henry James

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.

Aesop

We are called to do small things with great love.

Mother Teresa

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Dalai Lama

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