Developmental Assets for our children

As a mother, the greatest responsiblity I own is to teach Grace to love God, herself and others. It's tough in today's world for sure. I know I can't do it alone. If you've been reading my blog for any time at all, you've heard me talk about "deposits" others have made into my Gracie. I'm thankful for a core of friends and family that regularly interact with Grace by loving, affirming, encouraging, praying for, playing with and even correcting when necessary. These are critical pieces to not just my child's development, but all children need to have these supports...even from outside their immediate family to grow & feel a part of their community - both natural & spirital.

While checking out a new resource for working with young families and children, I came across Search Institute and found great stuff to help me as well as help me help famlies with whom I work. It's worth sharing~ Be an asset to a young person. Learn more about the building blocks of healthy development that help young people grow up positive, caring and responsible.

The following is a just a portion of the 40 assets that all children and young people need to succeed. They provide a strong foundation for growing up confident, competent and capable. Share what you learn with a young person in your life today.

External Assets

Supports
1. Family support—Parent(s) and/or primary caregiver(s) provide the child with high levels of consistent and predictable love, physical care, and positive attention in ways that are responsive to the child’s individuality.

2. Positive family communication—Parent(s) and/or primary caregiver(s) express themselves positively and respectfully, engaging young children in conversations that invite their input.

3. Other adult relationships—With the family’s support, the child experiences consistent, caring relationships with adults outside the family.

4. Caring neighbors—The child’s network of relationships includes neighbors who provide emotional support and a sense of belonging.

5. Caring climate in child-care and educational settings—Caregivers and teachers create environments that are nurturing, accepting, encouraging, and secure.

6. Parent involvement in child care and education—Parent(s), caregivers, and teachers together create a consistent and supportive approach to fostering the child’s successful growth.

Empowerment
7. Community cherishes and values young children—Children are welcomed and included throughout community life.

8. Children seen as resources—The community demonstrates that children are valuable resources by investing in a child-rearing system of family support and high-quality activities and resources to meet children’s physical, social, and emotional needs.

9. Service to others—The child has opportunities to perform simple but meaningful and caring actions for others.

10. Safety—Parent(s), caregivers, teachers, neighbors, and the community take action to ensure children’s health and safety.

Boundaries & Expectations
11. Family boundaries—The family provides consistent supervision for the child and maintains reasonable guidelines for behavior that the child can understand and achieve.

12. Boundaries in child-care and educational settings—Caregivers and educators use positive approaches to discipline and natural consequences to encourage self-regulation and acceptable behaviors.

13. Neighborhood boundaries—Neighbors encourage the child in positive, acceptable behavior, as well as intervene in negative behavior, in a supportive, nonthreatening way.

14. Adult role models—Parent(s), caregivers, and other adults model self-control, social skills, engagement in learning, and healthy lifestyles.

15. Positive peer relationships—Parent(s) and caregivers seek to provide opportunities for the child to interact positively with other children.

16. Positive expectations—Parent(s), caregivers, and teachers encourage and support the child in behaving appropriately, undertaking challenging tasks, and performing activities to the best of her or his abilities.

Constructive Use of Time
17. Play and creative activities—The child has daily opportunities to play in ways that allow self-expression, physical activity, and interaction with others.

18. Out-of-home and community programs—The child experiences well-designed programs led by competent, caring adults in well maintained settings.

19. Religious community—The child participates in age-appropriate religious activities and caring relationships that nurture her or his spiritual development.

20. Time at home—The child spends most of her or his time at home participating in family activities and playing constructively, with parent(s) guiding TV and electronic game use.

40 Developmental Assets for early childhood (ages 3-5)
40 Elementos Fundamentales del Desarrollo para niños pre-escolares (edades de 3 a 5) PDF

40 Developmental Assets for middle childhood (grades 4-6)
40 Elementos Fundamentales del Desarrollo para la pre-adolescencia (edades de 8 a 12) PDF

The 40 Developmental Assets for adolescents
Elementos fundamentales del desarrollo html / PDF

Other languages:
Alcholi (PDF)
Arabic (PDF)
Armenian (PDF)
Bulgarian (PDF)
Chinese (PDF)
Farsi (PDF)
Hmong (PDF)
Japanese (PDF)
Khmer (PDF)
Nuer (PDF)
Russian (Word Document)
Somali (PDF)
Vietnamese (PDF)

Since 1989, Search Institute has measured Developmental Assets in more than 2 million 6th- to 12th-graders in communities across the United States, using the survey Search Institute Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors. The survey is based on the Developmental Asset framework that synthesized relevant research literature and identified the forty developmental nutrients all youth need to be healthy, caring, and responsible. The institute also developed appropriate sets of assets for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-age children.

Visit http://www.search-institute.org/ for more information.