As parents, part of our job is to teach values and morals to our children to help them become compassionate and caring adults. It may be one of the most difficult jobs a parent can do. Some values may be easy to teach, others not so much. However, the end goal is to see our children flourish as kind-hearted, moral and upright adults. All that being said, we wanted to see which value or moral was of particular importance to teach, so we asked some of our favorite mommy bloggers the question;
What's the most important value you are teaching your child?
We gathered some of our favorite answers from them in a listicle for you to think and ponder over. It's our hope that in sharing their answers that you are inspired to enact these values personally but to pass them to your children as well.
Elena Ollick, founder of Daily Mom and Every Avenue Travel, wrote us back saying;
As a single mom of a little girl as well as an entrepreneur, one of the things that I work to instill in my daughter every single day is a sense of independence. Through our homeschooling co-op, we have taught her that education goes beyond what someone tells you to learn, and this idea can be applied to different areas of her life.
We hope to instill a strong sense of independence so that she can take charge of her life so she lives the way she wants to lives- traveling, running her own business, going through her educational career- are all something she can do if she wants. We also are instilling a strong sense of empathy for those around us, which we experience in our travels around the world. We hope that modeling a strong, independent female will help shape her to be the same as she grows older.
Geek Mamas operator Candy Keane told us that;
One of the many values were have been concentrating on is being kind to both people and animals. I never realized I'd have to "teach" empathy. I've been working on trying to show my son that how he treats the world around him has a direct effect on how he is treated. I want him to learn that being kind and helping people will get him farther in life than being mean or a bully.
Emma Johnson, of the fabulous Wealthy Single Mommy, commented that;
I constantly try to instill a sense of gratitude in my children, who are now ages 9 and 11. This includes recognition of all of their privileges, luck, talents, and abundance. When one has a deep sense of gratitude, you cannot help but focus on the positives all around you and identify where you can be of most service. Science proves that helping others is the source of the deepest happiness, connection, and purpose for humans, which of course is my job as a parent to aim for.
Seemeandliz founder, Tanya Thibodeau wrote back to us with this nugget;
There are many important values that parents should be instilling in their children. In our home, one of these values is kindness because we believe kindness makes the world a better place. I let my children know every day that being kind can be as simple as holding the door open for someone or picking up a pencil a classmate dropped. But it is also important for them to be kind to themselves as well. Our family motto is “treat others the way you want to be treated”. My children often fight among themselves and this is a really good opportunity for us to discuss kindness. Treating others with kindness starts at home and then can spread to the community!
Life, Love and Dirty Dishes founder Claire Kirby is teaching her boys to never give up;
One that we are working on at the moment is about trying our best. My eldest son is quite academic, but things tend to come easy to him. He is finding math a bit trickier and it's probably the first time he has been challenged and has had to try harder. His frustrations led him to give up and not trying. We try to instill, that it doesn't matter if you fail, because we all fail sometimes. What matters is that you have tried your very best.
Helena Blakemore, head honcho of Live, Laugh, Go wrote back to us;
I want my kids to be honest and trustworthy, so I make sure they feel they can tell me anything (even when they feel like they need to whisper it directly into my ear!). We talk a lot about the things they can do, and how they can't do the things that are frustrating them 'yet', because I want them to be courageous and have gumption. Overall, the key message I want my kids to have as their internal voice and guide is to be kind. Kindness matters! I model it, talk about it, and remind them about the importance of kindness whenever I get the chance!
The Chill Mom, Michelle Hon, wants to teach her children about ownership;
The most important value I want to instill in my children is to take 100% responsibility. I want them to take ownership of their lives and not expect others to fix problems for them. It’s so easy to complain and blame others. But that behavior doesn’t change anything. I want my children to lead by example and be be the change they want to see in the world.
Thanks to everyone who participated to help share how they teach values with their kids.
How do you practice this with your children?
Let us know in the comments below!
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