Every parent hopes for their child to grow up to be a good person, armed with a strong moral compass to guide them in making the right decisions later in life. Developing moral values in your children is just as, if not more important than academic knowledge, as they help shape who they are in their schooling years and adulthood.
When it comes to teaching values to your children, one of the best ways to do it is to be a strong role model for them. Children learn a lot through imitating their parents’ behaviours and speech, so it can make a massive difference if you truly embody the values you want your child to have.
That being said, what kind of values should you teach your little ones? Here are five core values to impart to your children during their early years.
1. Integrity
Say your child accidentally broke something or made a mess. Did they come to you and own up to it, or tell a fib when you asked them about it? Times like these are an excellent chance for you to teach some moral lessons on integrity.
Integrity is all about doing what’s right, even when no one is watching. With a strong sense of integrity, your child will be better equipped to make sound choices for the right reasons. Set a good example for your child and act with integrity, ensuring you don’t fall into the trap of “do as I say, not as I do.” You can also reinforce the value by expressing your appreciation when they show integrity in their behaviour.
2. Respect
Respect is an essential core value for children, especially in later classroom settings. It influences everything from knowing how to take turns to being polite to others. It is important to emphasise the need for respect not just to parents and elders, but also to everyone — be they teachers, friends, service staff, animals, and even themselves.
Respect might seem like a vague, big-picture value to teach young ones, but a good start is to drive home this message: we should always treat others the way we want to be treated!
3. Compassion
With compassion, your child will know how to show concern and care when others are hurting or in need. Teach them that helping others is an act of kindness, not a sign of weakness. At the same time, you are also teaching them empathy — the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. A few ways to nurture compassion is to encourage actions like doing nice things without expecting anything in return and donating some of their toys to charity.
4. Responsibility
Being responsible can mean several things — being someone others can rely on, meeting your commitments, and acknowledging mistakes. The true test of responsibility comes when children reach their schooling years, where they’ll need to take ownership of their actions and handle situations independently, such as completing assignments and working in group projects. You can start teaching responsibility with small tasks, like having your child pick up their toys and brush their teeth before bed, and rewarding them when they complete such tasks independently.
5. Curiosity
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.”
If you find yourself constantly answering “why” questions from your child, that’s a great sign! Encouraging children to be curious can make them more motivated to learn new skills and better at problem-solving. To nurture curiosity, you can let your child explore and try activities that interest them, and open their eyes to new worlds through books and field trips.
While it is on you as a parent to raise your child with core values, enrolling them in a preschool that incorporates these values in their curriculum can go a long way in developing in them positive, lifelong values.
That is exactly what MindChamps Early Learning & PreSchool aims to achieve with our holistic programmes for children at the toddler and preschool levels. Along with teaching literacy, numeracy, and social skills, we strive to nurture children to become Champs who are confident, grateful, compassionate, creative, and lifelong learners. Register for a tour of one of our centres, and let us share with you more about our research-backed programmes today.