Teaching your Child Values

"WHY SHOULD WE TEACH MORAL VALUES TO CHILDREN?"

We should teach moral values to our children because it is the most significant and effective thing we can do for their happiness.
-Linda & Richard Eyre from Teaching Your Children Values

Here are some great ideas I read last night (while holding my sweet 3 month old son, who is all congested and stuffed up from Brochialitis):

• REWARD - awards and any other form of recognition coupled with praise is a powerful way of promoting moral behavior.  In addition to various types of rewards, specific awards (Plaques for example) can be both a lively discussion point and a motivating compliment.
• "SECOND CHANCE" or "LET'S START OVER" approaches by parents can correct behavior and remind children of moral values without the negative effects of punishment and criticism.
• MEMORIZATION of short, graphic phrases or mottoes that state a particular value in a clever and memorable way is valuable in planting a good concept firmly in children's minds.
• THE VALUE and ITS OPPOSITE: WHICH HELPS? WHICH HURTS?         By guiding children to discover antonyms of each value, you can set up "opposite poles" and put yourself in a position to ask which one hurts people and which one helps people.
• ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF POSITIVE BEHAVIOR, IGNORING NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR.  Children crave attention, and all too often parents give attention to negative behavior and ignore positive behavior.  We tend to "leave well enough alone" and spend all our effort correcting what is wrong.  We need to turn this around and, again "catch them doing something right."

I have already put the first bullet into practice with our new "Good Morning Award" - for the past 3 days (started this in March, of course), I have had a much less stressful morning getting kids out the door to school.  Joey and Morgan are motivated to get dressed, brush teeth, get coat on, and get in car...just for the award...and all I do is make a big booming announcement in the car ride to school and everyone cheers (no true "award" is given).

I've got lots of reading to do this month...so I will be posting my findings and interesting readings along the way...doesn't mean it will work for this house or even yours..but atleast I am putting tools into my "toolbox" of parenting!