β β A Single Sentence from a Season Ahead
My family and I are headed out on our long-awaited beach vacation today. It's a good reminder that there is a big difference between trips and vacations with young kids.
The Building of Character π€My girls loved to play dress up when they were little. In our home, we have a wild room we call the "skit closet" and inside we keep a staggering amount of old play clothes. We have costumes from when my mom was a young girl, dance outfits from my sister's era, and of course plenty of Disney dresses from when my girls were younger. We have 3 generations of dress-up clothes in our closet and every sleepover or cousin party meant it was time to put on a show for the parents. Dressing up into a different character is a right of passage and typical entertainment for young kids. Putting on a dress or wearing a crown, meant that my daughters could immediately transform into someone else and embody their characteristics. If only it was that easy to form personal character in our kids. There may not be a single and more significant undertaking than the time, energy, and investment you make in developing your kid's character. β β Personal vs Pretend Character π¦Έπ»ββοΈ"Playing a Character" is very different than possessing character. Playing a Character:
Personal Character:
So how do you form character into each of your kids? We found it helpful to focus on 1-2 deep character qualities per child each year. ... and back-to-school time is the perfect opportunity to start! When you pick 1-2 specific areas of character you'll feel focused and clear enough to be able to reinforce it often. Some years you'll find yourself naturally in issues of integrity or needing empathy. Other times you'll be forced to develop boldness or goodness in them. But, for this coming school year, why not pick 1-2 characteristics that you want to sink deep into each of your school-age children? Here is a helpful process we followed:
The rest is implementation and consistency! You'll have more opportunities than you can imagine when you just start looking to reinforce your 1-2 character qualities per kid. Speak about that character quality often. Name it. Praise it. Demonstrate it. Tell stories about it. Write it in big bold letters somewhere in your living room or kitchen. Remember ... this is not a pass-or-fail initiative. Parents play the long game. I know you want to see your kids grow in their character, so make this school year about something specific. I promise you'll be amazed that it works. β The Background πBack when I was in college, my wife and I worked at Kanakuk Kamps for many summers. One of our jobs was to pick 2 character qualities (or CQs as we called them) for each kid in our cabin. We'd stand in front of a group of parents and speak those out loud so everyone could hear. I always thought it was a great way to affirm and develop the kids as we sent them home. I uncovered this old list and pieced it together for you today so you can pick 1-2 for each of your kids. I have chosen 25 character qualities and shared them below. There are many more of course, but hopefully this help you get started. When you decide yours will you email me back? I'd love to know what you are hoping to see developed in your kids this year. See you next Friday - Finley β Character Quality Starter Packβ |
Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
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