Practical Ideas for Teaching Integrity: Part 1

Apr 2, 2013 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

Integrity has often been mistakenly referred to as only truth-telling. While it does include not lying, it is so much more. In Faith Legacy: Six Values to Shape Your Child’s Journey we also discuss Follow Through, Loyalty, and Excellence as important aspects of Integrity. Today and Thursday, we will give you some practical ways to instill this multifaceted value into your children’s lives.

All Ages:

• Establish consequences for lying.
• Expect your child to be a hard worker. No laziness allowed!

Ages 2-5:

• Teach the difference between a lie and the truth. Then enforce consequences for lying.
• Train your child to do small, manageable chores, like putting clean silverware away or picking up toys and putting them in a basket.

Ages 6-10:

• Establish a chore list. If you have more than one child, rotate the chores weekly for variety.
• Give your child a responsibility that helps others, like helping you volunteer at church or in the community.

Ages 11-17:

• Involve your child in bigger responsibilities, like mowing the lawn, babysitting siblings, and running errands.
• Encourage your child to take on volunteer responsibilities of his or her own.

Parents:

• Be an example of always telling the truth. Your children are listening.
• Do not ask your child to lie for you.

How can you begin today instilling one or two of these suggestions into your children’s routine explaining the importance of Integrity in their life?

~Jim and Jerolyn