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2007-2008 by Cynthia Brian

If you are parent, you are most likely always struggling with how to keep your kids on the right track. Besides being the mom of two, I've specialized in coaching youth for over 25 years and most of the volunteers of the charity, Be the Star You Are! (www.bethestaryouare.org) are children and teens. Every child is different and as such, we have to learn to be flexible. Here are a few steps that I recommend to my clients as well as follow personally to be an empowered parent:

1. Learn and improve parenting skills by reading, attending classes, and networking.

2. Get to know each child as an individual as each kid has a unique personality.

3. Make time every day to "be" with your child and be fully present.

4. Listen, listen, listen.

5. Be a role model. Actions speak louder than words.

6. Have integrity and keep our word no matter what. Your child will learn to trust you.

7. Keep a schedule and routine. Help your child be self-disciplined and responsible.

8. Take time for yourself. By caring for yourself, you have the energy to care for others.

9. Hug, praise, kiss, and unconditionally love your kids.

Sometimes what you don't say speaks louder than words. Make sure you differentiate between the person and the action. Always find the good in your child and keep the doors of communication open.

No one is perfect, so be realistic in your expectations. There is only one exquisite child in the whole world and every parent is blessed with that child. 

Show your love!

Did you know that you can shop on-line and a percentage of your total purchase price will be donated to Be the Star You Are!® charity? You can click on any of these badges, shop and make a donation. WE NEED YOUR HELP spreading this message. Please consider copying the URL and the badge and sending it out to your database asking your friends and family to get involved with Be the Star You Are! http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=109461

Be the Star You Are!® is involved in a contest right now with Network for Good whereby we could win a $50,000 grant if we get a high number of donations to our Network for Good site within the next 15 days. PLEASE HELP and TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

If you have trouble clicking through, go to http://www.bethestaryouare.org

Help Be the Star You Are! win $50,000!

Network for Good and America's Challenge will donate $50,000 to the charity that gets the most donations within the next 20 days. Help Be the Star You Are! be that charity. Visit our web site and click on America's Challenge button at www.bethestaryouare.org or click here and DONATE NOW!  It’s the number of donations that account, not the amount of the donation. You can donate as little as $10-we just need hundreds of those! Help us if you can.

Please pass this on to all your friends, fans, family, co-workers and internet buddies. Tell them we’d love them to send this newsletter to their mailing lists.   Remember every dollar is 100% tax deductible according to the law.

Be the Star You Are! 501(c)(3) charity empowering women, families, and youth through improved literacy and positive media donates thousands of books to the needy and broadcasts a weekly upbeat positive weekly radio show (http://www.ideocast.com/show.asp?sid=118) to inspire and motivate listeners. 

To live and prosper in this society, all of us must be lifelong learners, with access to knowledge and skills that can sustain our lives at work, at home, and in our communities. At least 40 million adults in the U.S. need stronger literacy skills in order to take full advantage of continuing lifelong learning opportunities. Twenty percent of today’s adult population in the United States can not read well enough to read a children’s story book.  Literacy is one of the most important factors in determining whether a child ultimately goes to college or to prison.  The sad fact is, though, that most kids would rather watch TV or play a video game than read a book.   

According to The National Adult Literacy Survey over 40 million Americans over the age of 16 have significant reading deficiencies and 20% of adults read below the fifth grade level, which greatly hinders their ability to earn a decent wage. As the education level of adults improves, so does their children’s success in school. Helping low-literate adults improve their basic skills has a direct and measurable impact on both the education and quality of life of their children.  

The expense of books is cited as a reason that people don’t buy and read books. Pay the price for illiteracy and you’ll find that reading books is a bargain! Ignorance and illiteracy costs American taxpayers more than $25 billion dollars per year.

Here are some frightening statistics:

• 43% of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty.
• 17% of people with the lowest literacy skills receive food stamps

• 70% of people with the lowest literacy skills have no full or part time job.
• Workers who lack a high school diploma earn a mean monthly income of $452 compared to $1,829 for those with a college degree.
• 44% of American adults do not read even one book a year.
• 13% of all 17-year-olds, and 44% of minority youth, are functionally
• illiterate.
• 60% of American prison inmates are illiterate

·         85% of juvenile offenders have problems reading

Low literacy and communication skills have been identified in studies as contributors to general conduct disorders, psychiatric disorders, criminal  behavior, violence, and adolescent suicide.   Be the Star You Are! ®charity is dedicated to increasing literacy by collecting, distributing, and donating books to groups in need . (http://www.bethestaryouare.org) Since it’s founding in 1999, this small group of volunteers have donated more than $1.5 million in books.

If you read between the lines you’ll understand that it doesn’t matter what adults or children are reading as long as they are reading.

A little reading every day will result in a wealth of valuable information in a short time, as well as an increase in self confidence, self discipline, and self mastery. We must not permit anything to stand between a child and a book that can improve a life.  

Make a resolution this year to read everyday and get your children involved in the love of books. The lives you save will be your own. Reading spells SUCCESS!

Read on.  

"Do not look back and do not dream about the future. It will neither give you back the past, nor satisfy your other daydreams. Your duty, your reward--your destiny--is in the present moment." -- Dag Hammarskjöld  

(Cynthia Brian is the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® charity who reads four books a week plus numerous journals to keep informed. Visit www.bethestaryouare.org.)