Instilling Values in Children: A Guide for Parents

As parents, we try our best to shield our children from negative influences. However, the reality is that children are like sponges, absorbing everything they see and hear, even if they don't fully understand it. That's why it's crucial for us to guide them through these experiences and help them make sense of the world around them.

Teachable moments are the best opportunities to teach our children about values. It's in the day-to-day moments of life that they see our values play out organically. For instance, instead of giving a didactic lecture on the merits and demerits of virtue ethics, children will learn more from watching how we handle conflicts and problems in the heat of the moment.

It's important to ask children questions about how they perceive situations and how they would respond. This helps to structure conversations around the values you would like to impart. Using stories from books or movies can also help to illustrate important values. Be sure to identify and label the values you see being played out in these stories.

Remember that it's critical to instill your values in your children early on. As they grow older, they will filter their experiences through the values you have already instilled, even when their friends have some influence on them. The effort you put in now will be well worth it in the long run.