An introduction to the new Child of Character Series on Families On The Home Front.
“Reputation is the shadow, character is the tree.” – Abraham Lincoln
As a parent, I frequently find myself looking into the future at all the things my kids could do to get into trouble, real trouble. I determine what character trait could be lacking that would lead them down the wrong decision-making path towards that trouble. Character is the backbone of decision-making, and it’s my job to teach and develop this in my children. I want to grow a tree, not a shadow.
Character is often referred to as an individual’s morals, ethics, values or virtues. A person’s character begins to develop during infancy and has the potential to continue to develop throughout one’s life. Character is an important part of a child’s development for parents to understand because of the role it plays in emotional development, decision making, social relationships and academic achievement.
Knowing that a child’s character is moldable by external influences is reason enough for parents to find ways to impact their children’s character development and keep them on the right path.
Families On The Home Front is offering a Child of Character series for parents this summer. We’ll dive into character development and the latest research. Throughout the summer, we will tackle specific traits related to children such as empathy, responsibility, respect and perseverance. We will share information on how these traits are formed and why they are important to school and social success. To keep things fun, we have activities and strategies for you to do with your kids…on your home front!
Join us every Monday at Families on the Home Front as we share each week’s character mantra, creative ways to grow these traits in our kids, success stories (or not) and reading lists that teach character. Let’s work on growing our little trees together this summer.