Asset #3 - Other Adult Relationships - Young person receives support from three or more nonparent adults.
If you're an adult, ask yourself these questions as you go about more intentionally interacting with young people, realizing that what you do and how you do it may mean more to them than what you say. If you're a young person, read these questions and ask yourself whether the adults in your life do these things for you...
- Do I ask young people what's important to them and take their responses seriously?
- Do I meet my own responsibilities to myself, my work, my personal growth, and my family and friends?
- Do I show interest in young people's activities by attending poetry readings at the local youth center, going to recitals, or seeing basketball games at the nearby middle school?
- Do I listen attentively when young people talk? Do I validate their feelings and help them move through the feelings to wise decisions?
- In my work and play with young people, do I encourage and help them to be leaders and decision makers?
- Do I offer to just spend time with a young person?
- Do I listen to young people's hopes, dreams, and concerns without criticizing?
From Speaking of Developmental Assets: Presentation Resources and Strategies, copyright © 2001 by Search Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 800-888-7828, www.search-institute.org.