We Can Transform the World

We can transform the world by teaching our children valuable lessons about life, love, equality, social responsibility, and integrity. Our collective human success and well-being depends on the respectful, honest, and courageous exchange of thoughts and ideas. As parents, we must be intentional about what we are teaching our kids about integrity as they are claiming their identities. In order to make progress and evolve as a human race, we must teach them to notice when integrity takes a backseat to power. Children are not born with integrity or the behaviors associated with it, including humility, social responsibility, and the courage to stand up for what they believe is right. As a matter of fact, we are surrounded by societal forces that test integrity. In order for society to evolve and make progress as a whole, we need to be intentional about the process of cultural socialization and this process begins at home. So how do we prepare our kids to take ownership of their identities and develop the human virtues that will transform humanity?

1. Articulate family values
2. Develop a moral vocabulary (honesty, fairness, respect..)
3. Teach them to recognize injustice and to stand up for principles they believe in
4. Reward respectful behavior
5. Explore consequences
6. Be a role model
7. Share meaningful life stories and read books reflecting diversity and integrity
8. Instill self-efficacy and teach them that they may not be able to solve every problem but they can leave a lasting impact
9. When age appropriate, expose children to the experiences of marginalized groups
10. If age appropriate, teach them digital etiquette and moral conduct as they navigate digital citizenship

This post was brought to you by @the_shrink_mommy. More than a toy designer, be mindful is a community of parents who are going through the process of building the best denizens of next generation.  As such we encourage and delight in our community participating in our blog and social media efforts.  Your voice will be heard across our community and who knows which kid or which parent your wisdom will enlighten!  Feel free to email us at howdy@mindful-engineering.com or submit an inquiry on our site if you have a blog post idea you want to share!