I talk about character constantly. It is probably the biggest topic of discussion in our house. Heck, it is in our family motto/values. And, yet, I'm not convinced that is doing much good. So we are going to do a real assessment about whether we are actually living our values this upcoming Winter Break, and I am willing to institute some pretty major changes to have our values take a priority.
While we will limit screen time and social media more than we have, I also want to increase the things that we do that are more intentionally moving toward character. I think the inflow in what has been going in via the stories they've been reading online or conversations they have been having with friends has been closer to trash, rather than the values that we want our kids to develop. Some ideas we have had so far are:
- Having them read biographies of people with great character and summarizing the major turning points and take-aways (and, if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them)
- Having a virtue or value each month that we focus on, and have them come up with 3-5 things that we do to cultivate that virtue/value (any resources or ideas for this would be greatly appreciated)
- Making our vacations and/or some trips be more service-oriented, rather than entertainment-for-us oriented
- Requiring some level of volunteer commitment each month
- Having them work on more creative projects so they do less consuming of what other people are creating
Any other ideas? I really do not want to push them away from us, because we are a big drag that makes them do hard, not fun things. I don't see any of the items that I listed as punishment, but I recognize that my kids may. Nevertheless, I truly believe that character and service of others is the most important thing I can instill in them next to faith, so I'm ready to do some bigger things, too. (E.g. change schools to one that prioritizes character, etc.) I feel like I'm inadvertently creating a self-focus/happiness-focused/success-focused family culture, and I really need to stop that before I launch them into the world. Most would not consider them entitled, but we are lacking the depth that I think we should have, and each one is starting to make some questionable decisions (some more than others) so I am open to any ideas to help make it happen.