Teaching Values to Children, A Task That Starts At Home
Values relate to a person’s behavior and can become a source of fulfillment and satisfaction. That’s where the importance of teaching values to children lies. But how is it possible to teach them values effectively?
What are values?
In themselves, values refer to the rules of conduct or principles that guide our behavior. Furthermore, they are in agreement with what is considered correct. Thanks to this, values help us to choose one thing over another or to behave one way over another.
Therefore, it is important to emphasize that there are different types of values. However, ethical values are extremely important as they are strictly related to our behavior and the laws of a community.
When a person is born, he is neither good nor bad. This leads us to the conclusion that parents and educators who live with this person must help them to develop their behavior regarding what to do, how to act and how to live. Therefore, from the cradle, we must teach values to our children.
Key Values We Should Teach Our Children
- Kindness. It means treating other people in a respectful and helpful way, regardless of skin color, ethnicity or social status. This value is related to impartiality.
- Respect. This value involves not verbally or physically mistreating an individual, considering the dignity of people, regardless of nationality, language or culture.
- Obedience. It involves teaching a child why it is necessary for him to do things the way we ask. In the end, a child needs to know that we expect this from him.
- Tolerance. This means not preventing a person from doing what he or she wants to do so while not violating our freedom. We must teach that it is important to accept and admit diversity and difference. It is related to condescension.
- Perseverance. Be constant when performing an activity. Don’t surrender. It is related to confidence, stability and maturity.
- Honesty. It is to be honored when dealing with the most varied subjects, whether in public or in private.
- Responsibility. It consists of promptly carrying out an action, as well as taking responsibility for our actions and decisions.
Why is teaching values to children so important?
How important is it to teach values to children? Values are extremely important at any stage of human life, as they influence people’s decision-making. That is why children must be taught from an early age so that they acquire the habit of making use of values.
Teaching values to children is an arduous task, but one that is well worth it. This task should start at home and then be reinforced at school. On the other hand, the key for children to learn and manifest values does not consist in severe punishment, but in teaching correctly from a good example.
The education of values: how should we teach them to our children?
As we mentioned earlier, to be successful in educating our children about values, we must teach by example. However, it is important to know how to pass them on. Here are some suggestions:
teach by example
Parents cannot demand that their children not be selfish while children notice that parents manifest selfishness in certain aspects of life.
As children, while they are still small, do not know how to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, the role of parents is fundamental, who should be the ones to guide the path to be followed. Therefore, it is essential that parents dialogue with their children and be consistent with their words.
A good way to convey values to children is to read stories or stories that express the protagonists’ positive attitudes. In this way, children will want to imitate the constructive attitudes of these characters.
Offer all the support to your children
Value education for children requires earning children’s trust. For this, parents must always offer their support. Thus, in the face of an adverse situation, children will always turn to their parents for the help they need.
Without a doubt, teaching children values requires continuity. Only in this way will the little ones in the house be able to put into practice their daily activities. It will not be out of obligation, but from the heart.
Benefits of Teaching Values to Children
Some of the benefits of teaching values to our children are:
- It favors the personal development and growth of children.
- Morality is developed, which means a correct moral system.
- It leads to the child’s personal happiness.
- One learns to value the most important things, not the superfluous things.
- It helps to create a healthy self-esteem.
- Children can gradually set goals for the future, with the aim of fulfilling personal goals.
The role of parents in education values for children
The idea of value is related to everything that influences people’s behavior, with the objective of directing them to self-fulfillment, that is, to encourage them to be better individuals.
However, for this to occur, parents must have authority over their children. It is important to emphasize that many parents are afraid to impose themselves on their children. But this fear is unjustified, as children need direction in their lives. Loving authority is essential to transmit the necessary values to children in order for them to reach the much desired psychological stability.
