How to teach your child good moral values

From a young age, children need to understand acceptable ways to treat others and the difference between right and wrong. As a parent, you play the biggest role in your child’s character formation and should try to explore various moral values with them so that they grow up to be a good person. The chances are, you’re probably naturally teaching your child basic principles without even realising it, like always saying please and thank you, sharing, and following the rules. However, if you’d like to take it one step further, here’s some advice from a primary school in Hillingdon.

Be a good role model

You can talk about various morals with your child, but they will only pick them up if they see other people demonstrating them. Actions do speak louder than words, especially for impressionable children. As mentioned, you are one of the most influential people in your child’s life, so it’s important that you model good values yourself for your child to replicate. If you want your child to respect you, you should respect them. You should also share personal stories with your child of times when you took the moral high ground and how that impacted you in a positive way. Choose TV shows and films that promote good values and if you do happen to disagree with something a character in a movie is doing, don’t hesitate to point it out. 

Reward good behaviour

When you notice your child displaying good morals, be sure to use positive reinforcement to encourage repeats of this behaviour. For example, you can say things like “Well done for sharing nicely with your sister” or “I’m really proud of you for sticking up for your friend when she was being bullied”. 

Discuss diversity and inclusivity

Find opportunities to talk to your child about how diverse the world is and explain that regardless of these differences, all people should be treated equally and included. This applies to anything from race and religion to sexuality or even how a person dresses. Your child shouldn’t feel uncomfortable around people who are different; on the contrary, they should learn to celebrate and respect diversity. They should value other people’s opinions and thoughts. It might help to start with the message that your child should treat people as they would wish to be treated.