A big shout out to all the kids that don't win awards, aren't in the Top 10 of something, make honor roll, play sports, and barely make it through the school year. A big hug to the moms, dads, grandparents, caregivers, mentors, and foster parents that stick by them as they maneuver the school year and life.
Shout out to the kids that don't get invited to the prom, didn’t get a scholarship to college, and have to go straight to work out of high school....YOU are Amazing!
Everyone isn't an Honors student or Academic Scholar. Some kids have to work twice as hard, just to be C average. There's many who battle through behavior and learning challenges. Their achievements deserve recognition too. High School isn't easy, a child shouldn't be compared to another and we all learn differently, we all have a different journey in this life, we all should be encouraged, recognized and certainly appreciated for our efforts.
Don’t forget those kids, encourage them as well.
Kindness, Creativity, Uniqueness, and Generosity....those attributes sadly don’t get the accolades they deserve.

I had the opportunity to be a guest on Empowered Women through Empowered Living which truly was a high light for me! I've been on a journey of self growth, confidence building, learning ways to become a better version of myself so that I could add as much value I could to our children, communities, and families to empower them in our character building lessons. In March of 2020 I joined the John Maxwell Team which is another beautiful community of people sharing their gifts with the world. This is the interview with Regina Bryant the host of Empowered Women Living and myself.

This is Regina's introduction after we had a brief chat:
"Is there anything else?"
When Joni heard Paul ask this question at the 3-day Turning Point 2019 retreat, she knew it was a call to action to push her passion project, Characters of Character to a whole new level!
Most of Joni Downey's life has revolved around adding value to children. As a room mom, a gym mom, a scout leader, and a lunchroom helper, Joni's life purpose was always clear: to make a difference one child at a time.
Eventually, Joni found herself serving in a classroom with behavior and learning challenged boys. That's when an idea began to take shape. That idea lead to the creation of a unique, practical, and value-based children's program, Characters of Character.
After earning a National Promising Practice award for the characters, Joni formed a 501 (c)(3) and the rest is history!
If you want to know what living out your passion and purpose truly looks like then don't miss tomorrow's Women of Empowered Living at 12p/ET. Joni is one of a kind and exudes pure joy. She is an absolute delight! Not only will you meet Joni; you may also meet some of the characters as well.
This is a feel-good show and will put a smile on your face!

𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜:
This Monday morning I'd like to introduce to you, 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐨! Healthy Hippo is one of the nine Characters of Character and teaches our children to have healthy habits.
"Good habits formed at youth make all the difference." ~Aristotle
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬?
Healthy Habits are something that we do daily, such as brushing our teeth, making healthy food choices, to drink healthy liquids, to get plenty of rest for our body and our mind, getting plenty of exercise and fresh air, move your body and expand your mind.
𝐈𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡?
Mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health. Mental illness, especially depression, increases the risk for many types of physical health problems, particularly long-lasting conditions like stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease and strokes. On the other hand, poor mental health can lead to poor physical health or harmful behaviors.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭?
In Lally's study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit. In other words, if you want to set your expectations appropriately, the truth is that it will probably take you anywhere from two months to eight months to build a new behavior into your life — not 21 days.
𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡?
Youth mental health is worsening. 9.7% of youth in the U.S. have severe major depression, compared to 9.2% in last year’s dataset. This rate was highest among youth who identify as more than one race, at 12.4%.
Even before COVID-19, the prevalence of mental illness among adults was increasing. In 2017-2018, 19% of adults experienced a mental illness, an increase of 1.5 million people over last year’s dataset.
Healthy Hippo is a relatable character to help reinforce and teach children healthy habits, simple ones, such as brushing your teeth, washing your hands and eating healthy.

FREE printouts at https://www.charactersofcharacter.org/.../healthy_hippo...
Additional print out activities and character building lessons can be found at https://www.charactersofcharacter.org/character-corner.html
Learn more about Healthy Hippo at
https://www.charactersofcharacter.org/healthy-hippo.html

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Why is building confidence in children important?
Building confidence at an early age could make children feel better about themselves.  Think about yourself – when you lack confidence how do you feel?  You can be depressed, lazy, and settle for mediocre.  Now, think about how you feel when your confidence is high – how do you feel?  You probably feel motivated and fearless – even eager to ask for help if you need it because you’re excited about your life and want to continue advancing forward. 

Confidence goes hand in hand with making good decisions.  When a child has confidence, they can maintain a growth mindset, finding solutions rather than seeing the problems.  They are also more likely to take responsibility for their actions – the good and the bad.  Mindfulness and a positive mindset help to build your confidence, too.
Tips to teach confidence to children

• Be a role model. Many times, we think that a child isn’t listening to what we say, or to what we do, but they are.
• Encourage your child to explore and to try new things, as they learn that they are more than capable of these tasks, which builds their confidence.
• Praise, building confidence, and self-esteem is not about being the best all the time, but learning to cope when you’re not.
• Allow your child to find a passion, this helps them find their identity and builds their confidence
• Allow your child to fail, nobody is perfect, it’s more important to help them to cope with failure, build them up, encourage them to try again, and let them know you’re proud of their efforts.

After all, it’s not if you win or lose, but how you play the game. There is a lesson to be learned from our mistakes and it’s important to learn from them. Helping a child to be aware of this at an early age is beneficial as they grow. Instead of becoming disappointed or angry that something didn’t work out the way you wanted, look for the good, look for the positive, look for the lesson and you’ll do better the next time.
Building confidence can be tricky, you don’t want your child to become arrogant! So, by modeling this trait, discussing this trait, allowing failure and learning from the lesson is part of self-esteem.

Ask your child to look in a mirror. Ask them who do they see? Is this a confident child? How can you help build confidence? Download these free printouts:
Self talk in the mirror

Nightly affirmations for kids
Journaling or writing prompts for children
Confidence coloring