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Ashley Willis

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Family, Parenting and Religion
The Key to Raising a Kid with GOOD CHARACTER

The Key to Raising a Kid with GOOD CHARACTER

Last updated on: June 3, 2016 at 2:46 pm by Ashley Willis

The Key to Raising a Kid with GOOD CHARACTER 2016-06-03T14:46:29-04:00 Ashley Willis

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I watched a fascinating TED Talk recently by parenting expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa. In her talk, she addresses the real key to creating kids with good character. And, it’s a lot simpler than you think.

It’s chores. Lots of them. Dr. Gilboa shares some surprising statistics about how little chores–if any–children are doing today. Watch below.

And, these stats were gathered from Silicon Valley parents who admitted that they had many chores as kids.

So, why has there been such a shift with kids doing chores today?

Dr. Gilboa thinks it has a lot to do with the kind of expectations we have for our children. She states that most parents today are too focused on achievement and not concerned enough with building their child’s character.

In other words, many of us parents are so laser-focused on our kids making good grades, becoming the best at their sport or talent, and getting into great colleges that we leave no room or have no expectation for them to do some good old, character-building housework throughout the week.

http://sixseeds.patheos.com/ashleywillis/taming-the-ticking-time-bomb-how-not-to-yell-at-your-kids/

Lou Priolo makes this same point in his book, “Heart of Anger.” In the book, he describes how his mother would have him sweep up after dinner every single night. At first, he absolutely hated it and resented his mother for asking him to do so. But, eventually, he started taking pride in his chore and finding satisfaction in a job well done. He sights this as one of the most character-building lessons his mother ever taught him. And, it served him well. Today, he teaches hundreds of thousands of people how to build character and much more through his books, recordings, and lessons as a professor at the Birmingham Theological Seminary.

Could chores really be the answer? It seems so simple, right? Could it be that easy?

Well, not really. It’s hard to get our kids to do chores, but it doesn’t mean it’s not worth the consistent effort. We’ve tried many different approaches in our family, but our current system, which I describe in the blog below, seems to work the best…for now. But, after seeing this TED Talk, I’m going to add a few more chores to their list.

http://sixseeds.patheos.com/ashleywillis/the-best-way-to-get-kids-to-do-chores-without-a-fight/

I agree with Dr. Gilboa. We should certainly set high expectations for our children to achieve good grades and do their best in extra-curriculars, but all of that is meaningless in the grand scheme of things if the child doesn’t develop good character.

Thanks so much for reading, sharing, and commenting. I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Be blessed!

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