From our guest contributor, Michele Borba.

One of the top questions I’m asked by parents is how to keep children safe online.

It’s a legitimate concern. Surveys show that about four out of ten kids have experienced cyber-bullying. What’s more, most of those bullies aren’t predators or even strangers, but real world “friends” they know. I’ve dealt with far too many children who suffer from anxiety and depression after dealing with cold-hearted, intentional online attacks. Make no mistake: the root of bullying is always a lack of empathy, and far too many kids-and adults-are in deficit mode.

While we wring our hands and wonder what to do, we may be missing one of the simplest solutions: teaching kids to be kind. And that goes both online and off. After all, we teach our children to “be nice” in the sandbox and playground, but they also need help in navigating with their newest playground turf: the virtual world. Instead of assuming they understand the “play nice” online rules, we must directly teach those lessons.

The good news is that former educator and mom, Galit Been shows us how her in must-read, “Kindness Wins: A Simple, No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Our Kids How to Be Kind Online. This essential parenting manual makes the persuasive case for teaching our children online decency and it is written with warmth, humor, sage advice and compassion. She points out that becoming social media savvy is a skill that can be taught, and offers ten simple habits to teach kids to be kinder online.

10 Online Habits to Teach Kids: “Kindness Wins”

1: Take a breath before you post.

2: If it’s not kind, don’t post it!

3: Tell an adult when you see troublesome online behavior.

4: You’re in charge of your online life.

5: We don’t talk about other people’s bodies-online or off.

6: Nothing is private online: everything is sharable.

7: If you do have something to say make sure it is true, necessary and kind.

8: Post like everyone is watching.

9: Ask permission to share.

10: Kindness wins, always.

Breen also says that directly teaching our children these skills with real examples is always the best way to explain what’s okay to say and do online and what’s not. Of course, the beauty of Breen’s book is that she also shows exactly how to have those important conversations with kids and offers a wealth of practical takeaways. What’s more, the book provides resources for further reading, discussion starters and dozens of practical bulleted takeaways. Kindness Wins also includes two contracts: one to share with peers and one to share with kids.

I strongly recommend you get a copy of Kindness Wins and start teaching your children Breen’s ten habits. Working together is the best way help kids grow up in a kind and caring culture. If we preach the same “kindness” mantra, we really can make a difference on our children’s world.

It’s time we help our children be kind both online and off. As Breen points out, “Just like we needed to teach our children how to walk, swim, and throw a ball, we need to teach them how to maneuver kindly online.”

Dr. Michele BorbaMichele Borba is an educational psychologist, parenting expert, TODAY show contributor and author of 22 books including The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries and UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World

Check out: micheleborba.com or follow me on Twitter @micheleborba.

Click here to learn more about character education.

With thousands of books to choose from, it can be an overwhelming task to find books to help teach character.

Here’s a few book suggestions to start conversations about caring.

Hey Little Ant by Hannah Hoose and Phillip M. Hoose
Best for: Grades Prek-3
ISBN-10: 1883672546
ISBN-13: 978-1883672546
To squish or not to squish? Readers decide the ending of this deceptively playful picture book, in which a young boy and an ant debate the value of the smaller creature’s life.

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Stone Soup by Jon Muth
Best for: Grades K-3
ISBN-10: 043933909X
ISBN-13: 978-0439339094
An award-winning artist adds a Zen twist to a favorite tale. As three monks travel along a mountain road, they encounter villagers ravaged by harsh times, making them cold to strangers. When the monks entice them to make soup from stones, the villagers discover how much they have to give.

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A Cricket in Time Square by George Seldon
Best for: Grades 3-5
ISBN-10: 0374316503
ISBN-13: 978-0374316501
This Newbery Honor Book tells the story of Chester, a cricket from Connecticut, and his friendship with a little boy named Mario, a mouse named Tucker, and a cat named Harry in New York’s Times Square.  Chester, a musical cricket from rural Connecticut, finds himself transported (via a picnic basket) to the grit and grime of New York City. When Mario Bellini, a boy from the neighborhood, finds Chester, he raises the insect as his own. Chester soon meets Mario’s animal friends, Tucker and Harry, and learns about life on the streets. And when Mario’s parents are faced with the bankruptcy of their subway newsstand, the friends try to come up with a plan to save it from disaster.

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Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
Best for: Grades 4-7
ISBN-10: 1250043239
ISBN-13: 978-1250043238
Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There’s no more money for rent. And not much for food either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a cat. He’s large, he’s outspoken, and he’s imaginary. He has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

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Freaks by Kieran Larwood
Best for: Grades 5-9
ISBN-10: 0545474248
ISBN-13: 978-0545474245
Sheba, the fur-faced Wolfgirl, can sniff out a threat from miles away. Monkeyboy clambers up buildings in the blink of an eye, then drops deadly stink bombs of his own making (yes, that kind)! Sister Moon sees in the dark, and moves at the speed of light. Born with weird abnormalities that make them misfits, these Freaks spend their nights on public display, trapped in a traveling Victorian sideshow. But during the day, they put their strange talents to use: They solve the most sinister crimes. And in a dank, desperate world of crooks and child-snatchers, they’re determined to defend London’s most innocent victims: the street urchins disappearing from the city’s streets.

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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Best for: Grades 9-12
ISBN-10: 1423152190
ISBN-13: 978-1423152194
Oct. 11th, 1943—A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it’s barely begun. When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she’s sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity

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Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Best for: Grades 9-12
ISBN-10: 1250012570
ISBN-13: 978-1250064875
Eleanor lives in a tiny house packed with younger siblings, a mother who is a shell of her former self, and a toxic stepfather. She wears thrift-store clothing embellished with her own style, is overweight, and has wild red hair. Her first day on the bus no one budges to make room for her to sit. Except Park.

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Click here to learn more about character education.

From our guest contributor, Frank Sonnenberg.

Some leaders are causing irreparable damage to great institutions by shirking their responsibilities. They’re afraid to address difficult issues, make tough decisions, and introduce the change that’s required to achieve long-term success. Instead, these “counterfeit leaders” spend much of their time playing politics, protecting their turf, and promoting their self-interests.

Are you a leader (in name only)? Leaders in name only take the easy road by accepting the status quo — even if they foresee difficult days ahead. They sidestep tough issues and kick the can down the road so that the day of reckoning falls on someone else’s watch.

Vision. On the other hand, real leaders are visionaries with a “can-do” attitude. They take on the impossible, while their timid colleagues look for the exits. In the process, real leaders confront issues and obstacles head-on and make decisions that position their organizations successfully for the future. This means that their decisions won’t always be popular, but they will be considered deliberate and fair; short-term results won’t always be stellar, but long-term investments will secure a brighter future. These leaders won’t always be loved, but they will be trusted and respected.

Do you take a strong stand? Leaders in name only evade decisions like the plague. They study problems, hire consultants, hide behind committees and task forces, and when in doubt, procrastinate — anything to shun accountability.

Conviction. Conversely, real leaders have a backbone. They make every effort to gather information, weigh alternatives, secure buy-in from their constituents, and determine the best course of action. Real leaders focus precious resources in areas that provide the greatest opportunity rather than trying to please everyone or making arbitrary, across-the-board decisions.

Where does the buck stop? Leaders in name only are masters at playing politics, finger-pointing, and finding others to shoulder the blame. They measure every action by protecting their turf and promoting their self-interests.

Humility. On the other hand, real leaders do what’s right — period. Real leaders recognize that their stance represents something much larger than the whim of any one individual –– as such, they put their egos and self-interests on hold. Real leaders do what’s in the organization’s best interest rather than trying to win a popularity contest, playing politics, or advancing their own private agenda.

Do you value integrity? Leaders in name only turn a blind eye to unethical behavior. To them, it’s not how you play the game; it’s all about winning. They believe that stepping on employees, squeezing vendors, or cheating a customer to make a quick sale is just the cost of doing business.

Integrity. On the contrary, real leaders operate with integrity at all times; they are passionate about protecting their personal integrity and the reputation of their organization. They understand that trust takes a long time to develop, but can be lost in the blink of an eye. Real leaders know that instilling a strong culture and promoting ethical core values are instrumental for success. In fact, in today’s turbulent times, everything is subject to change except an organization’s core values.

Are you building a legacy for others to follow? Leaders in name only focus all their efforts on short-term success — at the expense of the organization’s future. Shortsighted leaders skimp on R&D, cut spending on capital equipment and new infrastructure, apply Band-Aid solutions to serious problems, and fail to develop key employees. Counterfeit leaders don’t care about the future because they won’t be rewarded for those efforts.

Credibility. On the other hand, real leaders maintain a balance between short-term performance and building a better future. Real leaders know that short-term wins enable leaders to build trust, instill confidence, and maintain momentum. This provides them with enough credibility to make strategic investments and tackle the long-term challenges that ensure success. Real leaders understand the importance of motivating others to accept personal sacrifice to benefit others.

Are You Up to the Job?
Real leaders achieve success by setting the bar high, encouraging teamwork, promoting win-win relationships, and demanding everyone’s best effort. Real leaders win the support of their constituents by earning their trust and respect. This is achieved through powerful ideas, personal expertise, and impeccable integrity rather than through their position or by “pulling rank.”

Real leaders set the tone from the top. In so doing, decisions are never made to win a popularity contest or to placate everyone by being all things to all people. Precious resources are allocated in areas where they provide the greatest good while carefully balancing short-term performance with long-term success. And, while you may not always agree with a real leader’s decision, you’ll always know that every decision was made in an honest, fair, and objective fashion. You’ll never have to second-guess a real leader’s intent; you’ll know what he or she stands for.

All great leaders, whether in the public or private sector, make people feel proud of the institution they represent and realistic about the future. When a real leader promotes a common end, people begin to work as a team rather than at cross-purposes with one another. Self-interests wind up on the backburner, while individuals begin working together for a higher purpose — the common good. And that, my friend, is what real leadership is all about.

For more information on how to be a good leader, click here.

Frank is an award-winning author. He has written five books and over 300 articles. Frank was recently named one of “America’s Top 100 Thought Leaders” and nominated as one of “America’s Most Influential Small Business Experts.” Frank has served on several boards and has consulted to some of the largest and most respected companies in the world. Additionally, FrankSonnenbergOnline was named among the “Best 21st Century Leadership Blogs” and among the “Top 100 Socially-Shared Leadership Blogs.” Frank’s new book, Follow Your Conscience, was released November 2014. © 2016 Frank Sonnenberg. All rights reserved.

Click here to learn more about character education.

From our guest contributor, McKenna Haase

They say money can’t buy happiness. As a finance major and a racecar driver, that was always hard for me to believe at first. After all, money could buy me lots of shares of stock and lots of racecar parts. However, as I gradually crept closer to the higher ranks of auto racing, I also gained a better view of the drivers at the top: their personalities and their lives, both at and away from the track.

Ever since my days as a young fan, I always thought these heroes of mine had it all- fast cars, trophies, fame…money. What I found though was that happiness wasn’t always on that list, and that even if money was, it couldn’t buy happiness. I learned that happiness is something easily taken for granted, and that even if someone looks like they have the world, they might not be happy, and even if someone looks like they have nothing, they might be full of happiness. As cliché as that sounds to most people, I still look around at a world filled with people trying to find all the ways in which they can quantify happiness and compare that to others.

Whether it’s the number of steps on a Fitbit, the number of clothes in one’s closet, the square footage of one’s house, or the number of wins one’s had, we seem to take these numeric figures and associate them with happiness. When I look at my career, some of my happiest moments have indeed been in these “quantifiable moments,” because some of the best days of my life have been the days of my biggest wins. However, it hasn’t been the numbers that have made them special, it’s all the ways in which I received happiness on those days that can’t be quantified. Getting to be outdoors on a beautiful day, getting to see my closest friends I wait to see every week, getting to meet new people, getting to fly behind the wheel of a race car, getting to climb on top of that race car in victory lane while hearing the crowd of thousands erupt…this list could go on forever, because these are the moments from winning that make me the happiest.

Each week I get to greet a line of fans, big and small, old and young, and everything in between, each of which is facing a battle in their life I know nothing about, yet they choose to wait to see me. To kneel down and look into the eyes of a little fan, eyes overflowing with joy and sometimes even tears from excitement, are the moments that time seems to slow down, even in the midst of chaos. That time is filled with utter and complete happiness. Money is great, fast cars are great, and winning is great, but if I were to win in front of no one, to never meet new people, to never greet the fans, or to never see old friends, the happiness that accompanies winning would be obsolete.

When it comes to life in general, it’s the little moments, the people I love, and new adventures where I often find the most happiness. The happiness I feel when time seems to stand still, even in a world full of chaos. Whether someone feels like they have the world or feels like they have nothing, when they find themselves quantifying their happiness, I hope they seek to find the happiness that can’t be quantified. I hope they seek to find the happiness that can bring them a little bit of peace even in all the chaos.

McKenna Haase is an up and coming female sprint car driver from Des Moines, IA.  McKenna says her mission has been clear since she was 12 years old: “to work in unison with partners, fans, and teams to create not only a winning race team, but a race team focused on honesty, excellence, and integrity both off and on the racetrack.”

Click here to learn more about character education.