For most parents, one question that bothers them is how to raise children with the best values. Most times, it is difficult, especially when the external influence and peer pressure is much. At the character formative stage, a time when children interact with society at their own level, they learn a lot from friends at school and the children next door. It requires consistency and persistence on the part of parents to ensure that values, ethics and manners are instilled in your children as their characters are formed. There is no doubting the fact that this is a very challenging responsibility, however, as parents, this is our responsibility and we cannot shy away from it. Here are some tips on how we can achieve this.
Raise Your Children With Care
Parents are the first moral attachment a child learns when he is growing. As a parent, you are the one that your children look up to. It would amaze you how much they learn from you being that you are the one they first make contact with as they grow up. These early years are very important as infants trust the one who takes care of them. This is the time to instill affection, love and care in them, you will be amazed how this affects the values they end up developing.
Connect Morally With Your children
When a toddler is morally connected, be develops trust and sensitivity. With these virtues, parents are able to teach toddlers and preschoolers the rules of life. When a parent is morally connected with his child, you let the child know when he is right or wrong, correcting him all the way, in the end, the child trust you as a parent. At this stage, you’ll hear children say, “My Daddy says…”, “I will report you to my mum…” this is because you have developed a sense of moral connection with his parents.
Encourage Special Skills
In every child, there are special unique gifts and talent. These skills become apparent at school and at times when they are engaged in what they love the most. As a parent seeking to develop values in children, you should be on the lookout for these attributes and help them develop these skills. Stimulate their curiosity by allowing them see you do something new.
Efforts Should Be Applauded and Praised
When it comes to children upbringing and the development of values, praising your children when they perform outstandingly is better than labeling him talented or smart. This discovery was made through a research conducted by a leading researcher in the field of achievement and success, Carol Dweck, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.
Respect Different Learning Styles
Different children have different learning styles, you need to discover that which is peculiar to your child and develop it for him. That you need pin drop silence when you are composing an email does not imply that your child needs the same. Children learn more when practice is involved, for example, singing a song while memorizing the multiplication table, this helps the learning process as it makes it more involving. This stipulates their creativity, enhancing their performance.
Read, Read and Read Again
At their early stage in life, children should be read to as often as possible. This enhances their learning ability, improving the rate at which they learn. In the long run, you’ll instil the value of reading and the culture of education. This is fundamental as it makes your child more connected to his books. Before long, you’ll find out that the read just any piece of paper they can lay their hands on as long as it contains a text, they will read it. That becomes awesome.
Eat Dinner Together
The importance of this cannot be over emphasized as it is during dinner times you can instill table manners in your children. You can teach them how to hold the cutleries correctly and how to chew with their mouths closed. If they miss it at this stage, this value would be difficult to instill in them at a later age.
Talk As Much A Possible
Children listen when you talk, do not take this or granted. If there is any moral value you want to develop in them, talk to them about it, highlight the importance explaining to them why they need to follow suit. If you talk long enough, you would shape their lives with the words of your mouth. Never get tired of talking, keep talking until you see the results in them.
Do you want to have your children demonstrate the best values when they are grown? Do not neglect them, attend to them while they are young and they character is still yet to be formed. Do not wait till they have formed a habit before you start amending, it is commonly said, metal is beaten to shape when it is hot.
photo source: mommynoire
