Crucial Life Lessons: Inculcating Important Values in Children for a Bright Future.
One of the songs that made the late R&B singer, Whitney Houston so famous was “The Greatest Love of All.” The song starts off with the lyrics, “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.”
There are a million, and one reason why instilling core values in a child are important, but one of the most vital ones is because, over time, little children become big adults; people who are not just functioning in a community but helping to shape it as well. Indeed, what we put into our children now is not just an investment in their character, but into the quality of life for us all in the years to come.
5 Important Values to Teach Your Kids
Love
Love teaches children to care deeply for themselves and those around them. It teaches them that it’s OK to be tender and to like others; that a part of being a thriving human being is cultivating lasting relationships where there is a mutual dependence upon one another. It teaches them to embrace humanity and to seek the joys that come from sharing their lives with other people.
Love is the foundation where all other values can develop. Best-selling writer, Gary Chapman co-authored a book on love for kids entitled, “The Five Love Languages of Children“. As you’re teaching your child how to love responsibly and appropriately, it’s a good read for learning how they tend to naturally express love whether it’s through Quality Time, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, or Gifts.
Honesty
A wise man once said that people lie because they fear the truth.
While a child is in your care, encourage them to feel that they should never be afraid of the facts or reality of a situation; that no matter what, they can come to you with the truth. This creates an atmosphere of honesty and honesty is synonymous with words like frank, sincere and fair. Yes, an honest child is more likely to be a fair child; to look at things without being biased or prejudice, that’s definitely a core value in a stable and healthy adult individual.
Self-Control
It’s probably no coincidence that more and more people are interested in True Crime within the past decade being that crimes, including crimes committed by minors, are continuing to escalate. If people were to get to the root of a lot of reckless behavior, a big portion of it would probably be because many children were not properly taught about the importance of self-control. Saying and doing what you want, when and how you want, is not only inappropriate but over time can bring about dire consequences. A child must learn, early on, that there are very few things that they can control in this world, but themselves is one that they definitely can.
Respect
Respect is imperative to a child’s development because so many choices are based upon a person’s level of esteem. They must be taught that they are special, that they have value; that they have individual qualities and abilities that are incomparable because there is only one of them on this entire earth. Studies support that a child with high self-esteem is less likely to become a substance abuser, be promiscuous or have body image issues. Another reason why teaching a child respect is important is that it tends to have a domino effect. When they believe that they are a human being of worth, they are much more likely to treat the people around them the same way.
Compassion
A man by the name of Samuel Johnson once said, “Kindness is in our power even when fondness is not.” Unfortunately, there is a lot of sorrow and sickness in the world. Teaching a child to care enough for other people to want to do something if they are able is a priceless and life-changing character trait. Gandhi was compassionate. Martin Luther King, Jr. was compassionate. Mother Teresa was compassionate. And they all changed the quality of this world, as we know it, for the better. There’s absolutely no telling, the possibilities, that the innocence of a child mixed with the heart of compassion can do.