Take advantage of time with your kids to have conversations about character and making good choices.
Check out our Family’s Guide to Teaching Good Character for more tips.
Whether it is at the dinner table or in the car, you can use these questions to talk to your kids about character.
Is there harm in a little lie?
(Here’s one way to decide. If upon learning of the lie, would the person lied to thank you for caring or feel betrayed or manipulated?)
Are there things that if everyone did it, would it be a bad thing? What if everyone used bad manners? What if no one treated others with respect.
Does everything we do make a difference?
(What we say and what we do starts a chain reaction that affects the lives of others. Even choosing not to choose is a choice.)
Can you think of a time when you thought something wasn’t fair? Could a compromise have helped the situation?
Can you take back hurtful words?
(Give an example of trying to put toothpaste back into the tube.)
How do you think our community or school could be better? What can you do to help?
(C) 2024 The Ray Center at Drake University is proud to be the home of CHARACTER COUNTS! CHARACTER COUNTS!, the Six Pillars of Character, and Pursuing Victory with Honor are trademarks of the Josephson Institute. CHARACTER COUNTS! was founded by Michael Josephson through the Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics.