Tips To Teach Character
Graphic by Jen Downey
Does one really use or need tips to teach character? Maybe yes, maybe no? Times have changed for many of us, no matter what age you are. If you’re in your sixties, times have changed, if you’re in your eighties, times have changed, and if you’re in your thirties, times have changed. The world is constantly changing around us, rules change, people change, communities change, styles change, our habits change. You get the picture. My question to you is this, “should your character change” and I think my first response to this would be, ‘no’ and then when I think about it, I think my answer would be a yes. Personally, I feel our character changes all the time, however, when we have a firm foundation to build upon, I’d say it just improves. I’ll never pretend that I know the best way, the right way or any other way, because we all learn and grow in our own way. What I can do is share our Characters of Character messages with you in hopes you share and instill these vital core values in your own families. This, this will help to make the world a better place, bring in more good behaviors, perseverance, friendships, healthy habits, good manners, respect, responsibilities, self-esteem and kindness. Take from us what you will and try to instill these traits, not only once in awhile, but, daily and often. When you’re a role model, and make good character a choice, it simply becomes a habit for everyone to enjoy, admire and learn from. So, while the world continues to change all around us, we still play a part, to make our days fulfilled with good choices, from morning until it’s dark.
I had a dear friend ask me years and years ago how our kids were balanced. What a compliment for sure! But, I still feel the same way today with my answer, which was this, “choose your battles” while raising children we need to remember, first, they are children, we are their teacher, their parent, their nurse, their tutor, their coach, their chef, their friend and their leader. Their first leader as a matter of fact. If we are constantly ‘TELLING’ our child what to do, with human nature, they WILL tune us out. If we choose to offer advice, offer praise, offer guidance and offer open communications with our children, I am a believer that they WILL learn to make good choices. As we all fall, we need to teach our children to get back up. That not everyone is the same, but, that we should be treating everyone that we meet and everyone that we know with respect. My words of advice today would be the same, ‘choose your battles’, but, I’d add to that, ‘be a good listener’ for when we listen, when we are silent, we hear the most.
May I introduce to you if you have not yet met them, the team of Characters of Character:
Behavior Bear who teaches that with good behavior you know how to BEHAVE
Do’er Duck who teaches perseverance and to never give up and keep on trying
Friendship Frog who teaches that a good friend is honest and what friendship looks like, sounds like and feels like
Healthy Hippo who teaches that a healthy mind is as important as a healthy body and to develop healthy habits
Manners Monkey who teaches polite words and actions and how lovely it is to hear polite words and see polite ways
Respectful Rabbit who teaches us that we should treat others as we would like to be treated
Responsible Rabbit who teaches us that we are responsible for things like our own attitude, belongings and surroundings
Self-Esteem Elephant who teaches us to embrace who we are and says, ‘I LIKE ME’ and helps build confidence
Warm-Hearted Walrus who teaches us to be kind, not to be a bully and how simple it is in our own lives to be kind
Graphic by Jen Downey
Characters of Character earned a National Promising Practice Award in 2005 after a Pilot program in an elementary school, only two schools earned this title in Illinois that year. We are Proud!
Today, there are books for each of the characters available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. due to the Pandemic, we made videos to help families, schools and communities engage their own children, students and families with character building lessons and activities. Talk about growth! Not a fan of being in front of a camera, however, I know the impact that these characters have and will continue to step out of my own comfort zone in order to make a difference in the life of a child. Check them out on our Youtube channel. Always feel free to reach out to us, invite us to your group, your classroom, your community and know that when you introduce these characters to your family, we are now in your home. Thank you for inviting us in.
With all that said, my Tips for Teaching Character are really quite simple. Be a role model. Be a good listener. Be a leader. One thing we need to remember is that a child IS listening to us, they are watching what we do and they are most likely imitating you, their leader. Make good choices and together we WILL make a difference in the life of a child.