Do you worry that your kid is going to be rejected from civilization, or, at least, college or the boy scouts or something, because of dumb stuff they do on line? Do you see evidence that your children are copying the jerky characters that grace our TV screens and movies, and are becoming too annoying, compared to how we all were when we grew up? Do you want to just tell the up coming generation to GET OFF THE LAWN!!!!

Here is a way to do that.

But seriously, some of these are real concerns, and Boys Town has decided to take the bull by the horn, as it were, and produce some books that may be helpful in this area. I’ve got three examples right here.

Boys Town is a non profit organization originally founded as an orphanage by a priest (Father Edward Flanagan), in Nebraska. You may have heard the slogan “He ain’t heavy, Father, he’s my brother.” That’s from Boys Down. Spencer Tracy played Flannagan in the movie “Boys Town” and the sequel, “Men of Boys Town.”

This is all very suspicious and seems too religious to the average modern atheist like me, but I’ve looked over these books very carefully and I do not think they contain hidden religious messages.

The Technology Tail: A Digital Footprint Story (Communicate with Confidence) by Julia Cook and Anita DuFalla pins a tail on the subject (the reader, the kid) and adds all the bits and pieces of Internet/Online behavior we accuulate through life as a seven year old. Your Facebook feed, Instagram, etc. Then it shows how this tail follows you around and when future employers or school admission councilors stalk you on the internet, they judge you.

It is a little scary but I think it makes good points.

Mindset Matters (Without Limits), by Byran Smith and Lisa Griffin, is more general in its focus, helping kids to not be afraid of new challenges, and to enhance their confidence. That is a huge issue with first and second graders. It helps that the main character in this book is a girl.

Hey Goose! What’s Your Excuse? by Lisa Griffin also addresses confidence and getting out of one’s comfort zone, in this case, from the perspective of a nervous-nelly gosling.

All of these books are suitable for kids from 4-8 years, ore perhaps a bit older in some cases. Kids just beyond an intro reading level can probably read them on their own (but better to the parents to get feed back and the parents can then learn some tricks), or the books can be read to the kids.

Have you read the breakthrough novel of the year? When you are done with that, try:

In Search of Sungudogo by Greg Laden, now in Kindle or Paperback
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