Title: Using your Values to Raise your ChildrenThe Center for Parenting Education
Headings: Values Matter: Using Your Values to Raise Caring, Responsible, Resilient Children
LIBRARY OF ARTICLES::
Over-indulgence and Values:
Values Matter: Using Your Values to Raise Caring, Responsible, Resilient Children
What are Values?
Some Facts about Values
Values Can Cause Conflict
Values Are Subjective
Values Change Over Time
The Value of Values
Values Provide Clarity
Values Provide Guidance
Values Impact Relationships
What’s the Challenge?
Parents Don’t Know What They Value
Values Can Conflict with One Another
Parents May Disagree over Values
Values Change over Time
Transmitting Values:
Benefits and Pitfalls of Different Approaches
Moralizing
What is Moralizing?
Moralizing involves preaching and teaching.
Using Moralizing to Teach Values
The Pitfalls of Moralizing
Modeling
What is Modeling
Modeling involves parents acting in ways that demonstrate the desired values.
The Benefits of Modeling
The Pitfalls of Modeling
Clarifying Values
What is Clarifying Values?
The Benefits of Clarifying Values
Children are taught how to think about and evaluate a value; they are not taught what specifically to think.
The Pitfalls of Clarifying Values
A Laissez-Faire Approach
What is a Laissez-Faire Approach?
The Benefits of a Laissez-Faire Approach
The Pitfalls of a Laissez-Faire Approach
What to Do
Exercises to Help You Get Clear about Your Values
Basic Life Values
Desirable Children’s Traits
TRAITS MOST ADMIRED
TRAITS LEAST ADMIRED
Ranking Children’s Traits

Content: Values Provide Clarity
Parents are more effective and clear when they know what they value for themselves and how those values influence what they want for their children. The more conscious parents are of the values they wish to transmit and the more they know about effective ways of transmitting them, the more likely it is that their children will learn and incorporate those values. Values Provide Guidance
Knowing your goals for your child helps you decide how to relate to your children. It focuses the parenting choices you make, helps you to guide your children, determine what messages you want to send and what behaviors and attitudes you want to reinforce. Do you want to reinforce: hard work? kindness? generosity? assertiveness? independence?