Help Your Children Become Good Leaders

Courtney 

Courtney was very troubled by what she saw. Sonya, who was a new student in second grade, was not being treated kindly by the other members of the class. Courtney could tell by the expression on Sonya's face that she was very unhappy about the situation. After thinking about it for awhile, Courtney knew just what action to take. At recess she would ask Sonya to play with her. She would watch over this new student and go out of her way to include Sonya in as many group activities as possible. Courtney knew that if she treated Sonya well, the others would follow. Courtney was pleased that she could have such a positive influence on her classmates. 

Doug 
Much to Mr. Kunkel's dismay, six-year-old Doug had gained a reputation as the class clown. Several times each day, Mr. Kunkel had to reprimand Doug when he would act out. It wouldn't be so bad, except the rest of the class tended to pick up on Doug's misbehavior and lose control. 

Definition of Leadership 
Leadership can take many forms—both positive and negative. A child may exhibit leadership qualities when he varies the rules of a familiar game to make it more exciting for friends. These qualities may also show themselves when a child arbitrates a disagreement among friends or when she seems to take the group in a negative direction. 

A Leader:

• Is liked and respected by most of her peers
• Influences others to work toward goals
• Takes charge of the group
• Judges the abilities of other children and finds places for them in the group activities
• Figures out what is wrong with an activity and shows others how to do it better
• Is often asked for ideas and suggestions
• Is looked to by others when something must be decided
• Senses what others want and helps them to accomplish it
• Enters into activities with contagious enthusiasm
• Is chosen by peers when given a chance