40 Developmental Assets

 

Search Institute of Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., has identified the following building blocks of healthy development that help all young people grow up healthy, caring and responsible.

External Assets

Support- Young people need to experience support, care, and love from their families and many others. They need organizations and institutions that provide positive, supportive environments.

Empowerment - Young people need to be valued by their community and have opportunities to contribute to others. For this to occur, they must be safe and feel secure.

Boundaries and Expectations - Young people need to know what is expected of them and whether activities and behaviors are “in bounds” or “out of bounds.”

Constructive Use of Time - Young people need constructive, enriching opportunities for growth through creative activities, youth programs, congregational involvement, and quality time at home.

Internal Assets

Commitment to Learning - Young people need to develop a lifelong commitment to education and learning.

Positive Values - Youth need to develop strong values that guide their choices.

Social Competencies - Young people need skills and competencies that equip them to make positive choices, to build relationships, and to succeed in life.

Positive Identity - Young people need a strong sense of their own power, purpose, worth, and promise.

Support

1.		Family Support – Family life provides high levels of love and support.
2.		Positive Family Communication – Young person and his or her parent(s) communicate positively, and your person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parents.
3.		Other Adult Relationships – Young person receives support from three or more non-parent adults.
4.		Caring Neighborhood – Young person experiences caring neighbors.
5.		Caring School Climate – School provides a caring, encouraging environment.
6.		Parent Involvement in Schooling – Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person succeed in school.

Empowerment

7.		Community Values Youth – Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
8.		Youth as Resources – Young person is given useful roles in the community.
9.		Service to Others – Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
10.		Safety – Young person feels safe at home, school and in the neighborhood.

Boundaries and Expectations

11.		Family Boundaries – Family has clear rules and consequences and monitors the young person’s whereabouts.
12.		School Boundaries – School provides clear rules and consequences.
13.		Neighborhood Boundaries – Neighbors take responsibilities for monitoring young people’s behavior.
14.		Adult Role Models – Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.
15.		Positive Peer Influence – Young person’s best friends model responsible behavior.
16.		High Expectations – Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.

Constructive Use of Time

17.		Creative Activities – Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater or other arts.
18.		Youth Programs – Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs or organizations at school and/or in the community.
19.		Religious Community – Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution.
20.		Time at Home – Young person is out with friends “with nothing special to do” two or fewer nights per week.

Commitment to Learning

21.		Achievement Motivation – Young person is motivated to do well in school.
22.		School Engagement – Young person is actively engaged in learning.
23.		Homework – Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.
24.		Bonding to School – Young person cares about his or her school.
25.		Reading for Pleasure – Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

Positive Values

26.		Caring – Young person places high value on helping other people.
27.		Equality and Social Justice – Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.
28.		Integrity – Young person acts on convictions and stands up for his or her beliefs.
29.		Honesty – Young person “tells the truth even when it is not easy.”
30.		Responsibility – Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.
31.		Restraint – Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.

Social Competencies

32.		Planning and Decision Making – Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices.
33.		Interpersonal Competence – Young person has empathy, sensitivity and friendship skills.
34.		Cultural Competence – Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.
35.		Resistance Skills – Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.
36.		Peaceful Conflict Resolution – Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Positive Identity

37.		Personal Power – Young person feels he or she has control over “things that happen to me.”
38.		Self-Esteem – Young person reports having a high self-esteem.
39.		Sense of Purpose – Young person reports, “my life has purpose.”
40.		Positive View of Personal Future – Young person is optimistic about his or her personal future.

 

The list of 40 Developmental Asset^® is reprinted with permission from Search Institute^®. Copyright © 1997, 2006 by Search Institute, Minneapolis, MN; www.search-institute.org. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Asset-building Tips for Dads

• Think back to your childhood. What was your relationship like with your father or father figure? How much do you want your relationship with your children to emulate that relationship? What can you do to foster closeness?
• Recognize that “providing for” your children has many meanings besides financial support. It’s also about supporting their interests, listening to their ideas and “showing up” whenever and however you can.
• Get to know the friends of your children. Learn their names. Tell them about yourself so they get to know you. Play with not only your own children but also your children and their friends.
• Take some time with each of your children on a regular basis. Each month, do something that you both enjoy, whether you go out for breakfast, take a bike ride or build a birdhouse.
• Talk and teach your positive values. Don’t assume your children will pick them up by the way you act. Let them hear your words about what you value while also acting on them. This can also take the form of a special card.
• Watch how much time you spend enforcing boundaries and giving support. Try to keep the two in balance. Kids need both.
• Stay involved in your kids’ lives through all stages of their development. Learn to enjoy new things about each stage of their lives. Even if their interests are very different than yours or seem like a waste of time to you, know that your support is what matters most. It’s what they’ll remember in the long run and what helps to build your lifelong bond.
• Focus attention on building or maintaining a strong relationship with your spouse/partner or your child’s mother. If you and your child’s other parent are not together, do your best to focus on what’s best for your child.
• Cut yourself some slack. You aren’t always going to be the perfect Dad. Just keep in mind that sometimes “good enough” is plenty.

 

 

Asset-building Tips for Moms

 

• Give lots of support and approval while also challenging children to take responsibility.
• Recognize the role of fathers and father figures. If you’re parenting alone, find male role models or mentors for your children. If you’re in a two-parent family, make sure that both partners share time with the children.
• Be intentional about building all the assets, not just the ones that seem to come naturally to you.
• Connect with other mothers who are interested in asset building. Form relationships in your neighborhood, on the job, at a congregation you attend or through an organization.
• Mothers can’t—and shouldn’t—build assets in their children alone. Not only do children benefit from having fathers and mothers, they need many, many adults. Get to know your children’s teachers, coaches, childcare providers, religious leaders, club leaders and neighbors. Let them know that you value what they do with your children.
• Go easy on yourself. Your kids are watching you and how you balance your own life. Show them that adulthood is about health, happiness, taking care of yourself and finding meaningful moments and experiences. If you’re working lots of hours, try not to feel guilty about doing something good for yourself, even if it means taking a little time away from your kids.

 

Asset-building Tips for All Parents

 

The first step in becoming an asset-building parent is to pay more attention to the things your children need to grow up healthy. Some ideas to help you get started:

• Post the list of 40 Developmental Assets on your refrigerator door. Each day, talk about one asset with your child, your spouse/partner or a close friend.
• Reflect on and celebrate your strengths as a parent and as a family. We all face challenges and draw from different sources of strength to get through, so be proud of them.
• Talk about the values, boundaries and expectations you wish to pass on to your children.
• Nurture your own assets. Spend time with supportive people, use your time wisely and strive to model your own values in your life.
• Regularly do things with your child, including projects where you live, recreational activities and service projects. From time to time let your child or teenager choose which activities to do together as a family.
• Introduce your children to other caring adults in your neighborhood, workplace, social network or faith community. Let other caring adults know you’d like them to get to know your child or teen because it’s important that kids have as much support from others as possible.
• Try to eat together as a family as often as possible. The more you can do this, the better for everyone.
• Choose a service project to do together, such as collecting cans for a food drive.
• Find other parents to connect with and learn from. Talk about both the joys and challenges of being a parent. Make a point of saying something positive about yourself and your child or teen.
• If you have concerns about your own (or your partner’s) parenting, anger or violence within your family, seek counsel from a trusted professional such as a counselor, religious leader or doctor.
• Be a friend and asset builder for the friends of your children. Welcome them into your home. Look for the good things in them and be sure to point them out.
• Give yourself permission to be “good enough.” Nobody’s perfect and that’s okay. Take a deep breath now and then and remind yourself you’re doing the best you can.