Teaching Values Early in Life

Most kids love animals. The prospect of a new pet gets many children excited, promising to do everything under the sun to take care of this new responsibility. Times like these can become excellent opportunities to teach children responsibility. THis can be effective particularly if this is a child's first pet. Caring for a pet provides the perfect opportunity to teach the importance of responsibility and follow through.

The Importance of Consistency

Pets need to eat and be cared for just like people. It's a good idea to start this process by explaining all the things that the new pet will need to be happy and healthy. If parents explain that the pet is counting on them to make sure that they have water, food, and exercise on a daily basis, children usually understand. It's also a good idea to explain what happens when the new pet doesn't get what they need to be healthy and strive.

Follow Through after the Honeymoon Period 

Initially, children will be excited about making sure the new pet has water and food and gets exercise. However, as time passes, they may be less inclined to want to do these things. This is where a parent should step in and encourage the children to continue to properly care for the pet, even when they don't feel like it. This is a key component to responsibility. It teaches children that responsibility isn't based on feelings and whether we want to do something. Responsibility is based on needs and a sense of doing what's required for the well-being of a person place or thing. You may even use your job related responsibilities with Predictive Service as a teaching tool as well.

Values that Work with Anything
If you can teach your children the concept of responsibility through learning how to care for a pet, this concept can be applied to many areas of their life. As they get older, these values will stick with them, particularly as they are practiced. A responsibility that's based upon meeting needs and not emotions becomes consistent. Emotions can be fleeting. However, a true responsibility supercededs an emotion.

Teaching values like responsibility help you to build a strong foundation for your children to begin their life with. Solid values will help them overcome and withstand many difficulties as they grow. Many different life situations can be used to teach values, even fun situations like getting and caring for a new pet. Use the events in your children's lives as tools to teach values.

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