October 18-24 is National Character Education Week-a time when your family can reflect on the values that you believe are important. Extension staff continues their effort in promoting the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. It is one of the more popular requests from schools to our staff.

Each of these pilars of character represents personal strengths that you can promote in your family. Emphasize to your children how important it is to tell the truth and the consequences that may happen. It is never too early to talk to your children about the truth and if you discover the truth hasn't been told, to have an appropriate consequence. However, never threaten a consequence and not follow through with it; this only tells your child that you are not following through with your word.

When we talk to young children about truth, they often bring up broken promises. As a parent, it is sometimes difficult to keep promises because of unexpected financial burdens or emergency situations. So when you make promises, be sure they are reasonable ones that you know you can keep. This is one area that really can tug on a child's heart if you don't follow through on a promise. They may remember this for many years.

If one practices the truth then many of the other pillars of good character will just fall in place. You will be respected by others and you will respect yourself. You will be responsible because you will not need to lie to cover up mistakes you have made. You will be fair to others and others will know they can expect fair treatment from you. No rule bending. Caring will happen automatically as you will feel good about others and want to help them. Finally, practicing good citizenship will happen naturally as you take care of your community and country.

Your family may have other values that are important to you and you will teach them to act accordingly. An important factor to remember as a parent is the role model you are setting. Young people continue to look to their parents as the most influential person in their life. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the ability to practice good character qualities that will lead to integrity.

Celebrate Character Education in your family October 18-24.

You would like to buy a big screen television, but you aren't sure you can afford it. You've seen the commercials for rent-to-own. The easy monthly payments sound good. But is renting-to-own a reasonable option?

What Is Rent-To-Own? The attractions of the rent-to-own methods of purchase are hard to resist. Advertisers tout low weekly or monthly payments, no credit check, no service charges, and immediate delivery.

In a rent-to-own program, you do not sign a contract to make payments for the life of the loan as you do when you make purchases on credit. If you decide you no longer want the dishwasher for $25 a month, you just return the item and stop making the payments. Once the payments have been made to complete the term of the contract, the consumer becomes the owner of the item.

What Will Rent-To-Own Cost? The total cost to own an item may be two to four times what you would have actually paid if you had paid cash or even paid on credit. A 19-inch color television purchased at a retail store would cost $325. However, it would cost $828 if rent-to-own was used. Before you decide to use the rent-to-own option, comparison shop.

Renting-to-own has become a big business today. More than 4,000 stores handle merchandise on rent-to-own agreements with a total volume of more than a billion dollars annually.

Take a long, hard look before signing a rent-to-own contract. Ask yourself if it's really worth the high price.

Parenting is hard work. It is even harder for parents with children who are always pushing the limits, who find it hard to comply with requests and are intense, persistent, slow to adapt and energetic. If this describes your child, keep reading.

These characteristics are often attributed to temperament. Understanding your child's temperament can help you understand your child better. Spirited children may display any of the following characteristics:

Intensity. This describes how spirited children react to situations. Their response is usually immediate and strong. There is no middle of the road.

Persistence. These children are committed to their task; they are goal oriented, and unwilling to give up. They love to debate and are not afraid to assert themselves.

Sensitivity. Spirited kids are keenly aware of their senses. They respond to the slightest noises, smells, lights, textures, or changes in mood. They are easily overwhelmed by the number of sensations they encounter.

Perceptiveness. Spirited children notice everything. They are easily distracted, and are often accused of not listening.

Adaptability. Spirited children are uncomfortable with change. They hate surprises and do not shift easily from one activity to another.

Energetic. Many, but not all, spirited kids are very energetic. They have a real need to move that comes from inside. They tend to be busy--taking things apart, exploring, creating.

You may wonder, "Why is my child this way?" There are several things that influence behavior. They include temperament, genetic make-up, chemical imbalances in the brain, trauma, mood disorders, and response to a chaotic environment. Parenting styles and practices can influence when these behaviors start and their intensity.

The stress of dealing with challenging behaviors all the time affects the relationships of the parents to the child, and of the child to other children and of the parents to each other. The family continually adjusts and readjusts to challenging behaviors.

It is critical that parents accept and affirm spirited children. It's easy to develop a negative pattern of reacting to behaviors with criticism and punishment. Children need to know they have unconditional love and support. They need affection, positive comments, and encouragement.

Some behaviors can be managed by changing parenting strategies. Others require intervention by trained medical or mental health professionals. Don't be afraid to seek professional help if the child's behaviors have a negative effect on the family or the child's successful development.

Source: Kari Nelson, U of MN Extension, 1997
www.extension.umn.edu/Documents/B/E/BE613l.html

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of an infant under one year of age. After 30 years of research, scientists still cannot find one definite cause for SIDS. There is no way to predict or prevent SIDS. A brochure from the National Institute for Child Health describes that research has found some things that can help reduce the risk of SIDS. Brochures are available in English and in Spanish. If you have any questions about your baby's sleep position or health, first talk to your doctor or nurse. For more information about the Back to Sleep campaign or to order brochures, call tollfree, 1-800-505-CRIB or write NICHD/Back to Sleep, 31 Center Drive, Room 2A32, MSC 2425, Bethesda, MD, 20892-2425. Read more on the web at http://www.nih.gov/nichd/home.html