Here, according to experts, are the most common cheating dilemmas, and their solutions:

1. Your child was caught cheating at school. She did it but she denied it. – Tell her to own up–she already did one thing that was dishonest; lying about it will only double the mistake. Explain to her that the teacher will be far more able to forgive and trust her again if she admits she did it, and why. “I was afraid I’d do badly,” or, “I wanted to be sure I had the right answer so I checked Jane’s paper and then I got worried I was wrong,” are honest, from the heart responses. Your child may have to take an F, but she’ll walk away from the incident knowing it’s behind her. Then be sure to have a talk with her about what each of you expects from her performance. One or both of you may need to adjust the picture. You can’t expect A’s all of the time. Be certain she knows that if she’s made her best effort, you support her no matter what.

Warn your child and arm him/her with basic safeguards. Below are guidelines from U.S. law enforcement authorities and courtesy of an organization on how to minimize, if not prevent, kidnapping incidents:

For Parents with School-Aged Kids

Call often. Teach your kids to call as often as they can, at every opportunity. They must call when they arrive at a friend’s house. They must call again when they leave the house, or if they have to go to a mall or some other place. Train them to memorize phone numbers.

For Parents with Pre-School-Aged Kids

Teach the child alternate places to go. In case your child cannot go home or if the house is locked and nobody is there to open the door for him or her, teach the child to go to another designated house. It could be your next-door neighbor’s houses or a relative’s. Pre-arrange this with them.

Teach your child to shout for help if being followed. In case your child senses that he or she is being followed by a stranger on foot or by car, he or she must cry for help and run towards the house or a neighbor’s house.

Tell your child not to open the door if he’s alone. If your child is at home with your household help, leave instructions never to open the door for anyone except you. Also, teach your child never to toll anyone on the telephone that he or she is alone in the house.

Even in this age of cynicism and prejudice, amid greed and injustice, you can still raise a child who values honesty and fairness.

Remember that a child is born into this world like an empty sponge. He absorbs everything that you soak him with. Shower him with love and the right values and he will contain the beauty that you raised him with. Then, wherever he may be, no matter how hard he may be squeezed, it is the same love and proper values that he will give out.

While you cannot possibly guard your child every moment that he steps out into the real world, if the correct values have been planted in a child’s heart and mind, he will adhere to those values wherever he may be, in whatever situation he may find himself to be. Here are ways to implant honesty and fairness to your child:

You remember when you were a child; you hated it whenever your parents cancelled a scheduled vacation. Yes, they had valid reasons. But to a child’s mind, bad news is still bad news.

Bad news these days is a lot worse. What’s more mean than seeing people being blown to pieces by suicide bombers? What does a child think when he sees a four-year old being hostaged and killed in front of a crowd of adults? How can you help your kids handle such bad news?

The key, according to child psychologists is how you break the news. Of course, there are many instances when you don’t even have to tell your child the bad news. If it does not concern him yet and if he can’t do anything about it anyway, what’s the point of scaring your child? For older kids though, chances are they will find out about the bad news from other people, from media and anywhere and everywhere. If this is the case, then what you should aim for is to keep information simple and factual.