Teaching Values to Your Kids Starts at Home

Teaching Values to Your Kids Starts at Home

Last update: 15 July, 2018

Values ​​are linked to a person’s behavior and can become a source of great fulfillment and satisfaction. Hence the importance of teaching values ​​to children.

But how can we teach values in the most effective way?

What are values?

Values ​​are the rules of conduct or principles that guide our behavior. They always correspond to what is considered as correct. Values can help us choose one thing over another or to behave one way or another.

“Your values ​​define who you really are. Your real identity is the sum total of your values”

–Assegid Habtewold–

In this regard, it should be noted that there are different types of values. Ethical values ​​are of great importance, as they are closely related to our behavior and the rules and regulations in any given community.

When people are born, they are neither good nor bad. This leads us to the conclusion that the parents and other adults in their life should help them develop their behavior – above all regarding what they should do and not do, how to act and react, and how to live.

For this reason, values ​​must be taught to children from a very early age so that they can identify with them.

Teaching Values to Your Kids Starts at Home

Main values ​​to be instilled in children

  • Friendliness. This involves treating others in a respectful and helpful way, regardless of their ethnicity or background. It has to do with impartiality.
  • Respect. This involves not treating others badly, either verbally or physically. We should consider people’s dignity, regardless of their nationality, language or culture.
  • Obedience. This involves teaching a child the reason why it is necessary for him to do what you ask him to. After all, a child needs to know what is expected of him.
  • Tolerance. This means not preventing a person from doing something, as long as they don’t violate other people’s rights or freedom. We need to accept diversity and difference. This is related to forbearance.
  • Perseverance. Be consistent and unwavering when carrying out activities. Never give up. This is related to trust, stability and maturity.
  • Honesty. This involves being honest in dealing with all types of issues, either in public or in private.
  • Responsibility. This consists of carrying out an action promptly, as well as assuming the responsibilities of our actions or decisions.

Values ​​in children: why are they so important?

What does teaching values ​​to children consist of? Values ​​are of great importance at any stage of our lives, because they influence our decision-making. That is why they must be instilled from an early age in order to be adopted as life habits.

Teaching values ​​to children is an arduous task, but it is worth it. It should begin at home and then be reinforced at school. One of the keys to teaching children values and how to express them is not to punish them severely, but rather to teach them by example.

How should we teach values ​​to children?

As we’ve already mentioned, to be successful in teaching values ​​to children, we must lead by example. However, it is important to know how to transmit them to our children. Here are some suggestions:

Lead by example

Parents can’t demand that their children aren’t selfish when, for example, the children notice that their parents show selfishness in certain aspects of life.

Due to the fact that children, when they are small, don’t know for sure what is right and what isn’t, the role of parents is fundamental, and they must be the ones to give them an example to follow. It is vital that they talk to their children and are consistent in what they say.

A good way to transmit values ​​to children is to read them stories in which the main characters express positive attitudes. In this way, children will want to imitate the constructive behavior of these individuals.

Give them support

Teaching values ​​to children requires winning your child’s trust. To do this, parents must always offer them their support. In this way, when faced with difficult situations, the children will turn to their parents for help.

Undoubtedly, teaching values to children requires continuous education. Only then can the youngest ones of the house put them into practice in their everyday activities, not by obligation but because it comes from their heart.

Teaching Values to Your Kids Starts at Home

Benefits of teaching values to children

Some of the benefits of teaching values ​​to our children are:

1. Encourages the child’s personal development and growth.

2. Morality starts to develop, and helps them to develop a correct moral system.

3. Leads to personal happiness.

4. You learn to value the most important things in life.

5. Helps create a healthy self-esteem.

6. Children can gradually establish future goals, and start to fulfill their personal objectives.

The role of parents in teaching values to their children

The idea of values is related to everything that influences people’s behavior. All of this is so that they become better individuals and can fulfill their desires.

However, for this to be the case, parents must exert authority over their children. In many cases, though, parents are afraid of imposing themselves on their children.

This fear is unjustified, because children need direction, and the loving authority of their parents is essential in order to transmit values to their children, in order for them to obtain psychological stability.


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This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.