Right or Easy?: 50 Everyday Dilemmas That Build Character
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF NOBODY WOULD EVER FIND OUT?
Your friend asks you to lie for them. Your teacher gives you extra marks by mistake. Someone makes a joke that hurts another child. An AI tool offers to do your schoolwork in seconds.
Would you choose what feels easy now, or what you'll feel proud of later?
Children face difficult choices long before adulthood. Peer pressure, friendship problems, honesty, fairness, and the temptation to take shortcuts can leave them wondering what to do.
Telling children to "make good choices" is easy. Helping them work out how to make those choices is what matters.
Right or Easy? 50 Everyday Dilemmas That Build Character gives children ages 8 to 13 practical tools to think through tricky situations, consider other people's perspectives, speak up with confidence, and make decisions they can stand behind.
50 EVERYDAY DILEMMAS. SIX AREAS OF LIFE. BETTER THINKING FOR TOUGH CHOICES.
Explore six themes drawn from the kinds of situations children encounter every day:
Friends and Fitting In: Secrets, peer pressure, loyalty, kindness, and standing up for others.
School and Schoolwork: Honesty, cheating, fair marks, taking credit, and owning mistakes.
Screens, Games and AI: Online behavior, digital choices, AI-assisted homework, and knowing where to draw the line.
Sports and Fair Play: Winning honestly, following rules, handling defeat, teamwork, and leadership.
Family and Home: Promises, responsibilities, privacy, fairness, and everyday choices at home.
Community and the Wider World: Telling the truth, helping others, caring for shared spaces, and doing what is right when it is uncomfortable.
Should you admit a mistake when nobody saw it? Keep a promise when telling the truth feels awkward? Speak up when someone is treated unfairly? Each dilemma invites children to explore their options, weigh the consequences, and decide what they would do.
Children are encouraged to think for themselves, explain their reasoning, and discover that thoughtful people can sometimes see the same situation differently.
INSIDE, CHILDREN WILL LEARN TO:
Pause, Picture, Pick, Practice: Use a memorable four-step playbook to slow down, consider the consequences, make a decision, and prepare what to say or do.
Use the Four Gut Checks: Apply the Everyone Test, Mirror Test, Swap Test, and Future-Me Test to examine choices from different perspectives.
Find the words to speak up: Use "Say It Like This" scripts to practice saying no, admitting mistakes, standing up for others, and asking a trusted adult for help.
Make things right after a mistake: Follow the S-O-F-L method, Stop, Own, Fix, Learn, to take responsibility and choose a better next step.
Build skills through practice: Explore role-plays, debate corners, reflection questions, and personal writing activities.
MORE THAN A BOOK TO READ
With family discussion cards, activities for groups and classrooms, a 30-day challenge, a choices journal, and a personal integrity pledge, this book gives children opportunities to put their thinking into practice at home, at school, and in everyday life.
A MEANINGFUL READ FOR AGES 8 TO 13
Ideal for children learning to think independently, parents who want more meaningful family conversations, teachers, homeschoolers, and character-education groups. It also makes a thoughtful gift for young readers developing confidence, responsibility, and good judgement.
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