Are you a kid or teenager who wants to avoid being grounded at home and suspended at school? Do you want to waste less money and improve your health? Would you like to become more successful in life? I will cover the steps you should take to reach these goals.

Do not play too far from home. You must remain close so you can quickly come home if the sky starts to look ominous. I was once grounded for three weeks for riding my bicycle too long in the rain.

If you play outside and must be home by the time it is dark, keep close track of the time. I sometimes got carried away playing outside while having fun. I was once grounded for coming home in the dark.

Do not sass or talk back to your parents or other adults. If your parents take you to see a professional, you must cooperate. While I saw a psychologist at the age of twelve, I refused to do tasks the psychologist gave me because I did not want to be there. The ride home with my mother was very unpleasant.

When you see a performance or speech with your parents, you must clap when the rest of the audience claps. I once refused to clap during a church sermon. My punishment was to eat liver with mayonnaise on it for dinner.

If your parents forbid you from having a particular food or drink, you must obey. During a time I was not allowed to have milk, I bought a carton of milk and put it the freezer downstairs.

One morning while I was getting ready to go to school, my father found the milk. He took my lunch money off my dresser and prevented me from having breakfast. He told me, "If I find any more milk you have bought, you'll get your butt out of my house. You make the choice."

Quickly use every gift your parents give you. Several years ago, my father made me turn off my radio while I ate dinner because I had not started using a headset system he bought me for Christmas. Never mind that I did not ask for that item.

Do not mess with your teachers' materials. In my junior year in high school, I ripped out a page from my English teacher's chart so I could finish taking notes. I was written up and received a day of detention.

Never flip your middle finger at school. In my sophomore year, a classmate flipped me off and I returned the gesture. I was caught and sent to the hall.

Never relieve yourself in public. In my junior year, I relieved myself outside because I thought I did not have enough time to use the restroom before the beginning of my next class.

I was suspended for two days. I was lucky I was not prosecuted for indecent exposure.

Be careful how you spend money. I regret spending almost all of my allowance on comic books and not saving enough money. Immediately deposit at least ten percent of your earnings in the bank when you get paid.

Carry comic books home in your bag or hands. I once put my comic books down my shirt and lost them.

It is essential to eat properly and exercise to be healthy and improve your learning abilities. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy products daily.

Limit your intake of junk food. Do an aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging or bicycling for thirty minutes five days a week.

It is also important to become physically stronger. If you do not have access to a gym, you can bench press and carry a bag or container full of weights or bricks. To exercise your stomach muscles, bench press a small amount of weight directly over your stomach.

I sometimes lost gloves as a kid. Make sure you have ample space in the pockets of your jackets and coats to carry your gloves.

Wear a hat in cold weather because you lose fifty percent of your body heat through your head. Carry mittens and gloves small enough to fit inside your mittens when it is very cold. Always keep the sun out of your eyes with a cap or sunglasses.

Do not go to school without your lunch or lunch money. If you prepare your lunch, immediately put it in your backpack. If you buy your lunch, check your pockets at the door to make sure you are not leaving without your money.

Focus on getting good grades. Get tutoring and extra assistance from your teachers. Put what you learn into your own perspective.

Use repetition. Read your notes forwards and backwards to prevent being caught off guard if a test question is worded differently from the way your teacher and textbook presented the material.

Do not do things or act a certain way just to fit in with friends. If your friends dump you because you do not do what they want, it is their problem. Move on.

Never attempt suicide no matter how bad things are. Your problems will soon disappear; furthermore, your death will hurt your family forever. Do you want that?

Always control your anger. If other kids call you names, let it go. You could get locked up on an assault charge for hitting, pushing or spitting at someone. If someone challenges you to a fight, walk away.

Stay in school. Dropping out of high school might hurt others to an extent but you will mainly hurt yourself.

To avoid being arrested for disorderly conduct, always conduct yourself properly in public. Avoid running, loudness and creating disturbances. Do not place wrappers on the counter after you open up food you buy at a restaurant.

Participate in school activities. Start looking for part-time work and summer jobs when you are sixteen.

Todd Hicks owns Skill Development Institute, an enterprise that provides a keyboard typing lesson and academic study guide. He has a communications degree and lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Todd has also written many articles and posted them on his web site.