Dr. Todd Cartmell shares with us a question: "How do we help our kids learn the value of honesty, especially when being honest is hard?
Here are a few ideas:
Talk together as a family about honesty. Why does God say that honesty is so important? What good things does honesty bring? What negative results does dishonesty bring?
Sitting around the table at dinnertime or asking these questions while you drive somewhere can be good times to talk about questions like this.
Model honest behavior. There is no better lesson than kids seeing mom and dad be honest in everyday life.
Help your child find a better solution. I think of lying as problem-solving gone awry. Your child was faced with a problem and thought that lying was her best option.
Help her find the better solutions that she overlooked and explain why they are better.
Catch her being honest. Be on the lookout for honest moments (no matter how small!) and point them out to your child. This will help her realize that honesty is the best policy.
Make lying her problem, not yours. Choose negative consequences that will fit the crime and teach the lesson that dishonesty NEVER pays off.
For example, if a child lies about a homework assignment, a certain privilege can be discontinued until that homework assignment is made up and all other assignments are up to date.
A child can even be given an extra homework assignment to complete if this problem continues.
All of us have been dishonest at times. We want our kids to learn that there are only two times when they need to be honest: When it is easy and when it is hard.
Of course, the best lesson they will learn about being honest will come from watching you.
How about you? Do you have an example of a time when your child stuck with a lie despite clear evidence to the contrary?
How have you proactively taught your kids about honesty?"
As seen on the post Did She or Didn't She of Jill Savage 4/16/13
Today’s guest post is by Dr. Todd Cartmell, a child psychologist who has been working with children, teens, parents, and families for the last 18 years in Wheaton, IL.
The author of five parenting books including Keep the Siblings…Lose the Rivalry, Dr. Todd is a favorite Hearts at Home speaker. He and his wife, Lora, have two young adult sons who are currently attending college.
Used by permission www.christiandevotions.us
Bible Verse today: Prov. 3:5,6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
Today’s quote: J. N. D. Anderson – “Man does, indeed, need a radical change of heart; he needs to begin to hate his sin instead of loving it, and to love God instead of hating him; he needs, in a word, to be reconciled to God.
And the place, above all others, where his change takes place is at the foot of the cross, when he apprehends something of the hatred of God for sin and his indescribable love for the sinner.”
Our thought for today: God is bringing us into a unity of heart; a generational blessing.
Tomorrow’s post: God's Take on Marriage Germain Copeland
A popular post: They’re Watching!
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