Our Journey
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and provide therapy to children, teens, families and adults. My husband is Honorably Discharged from the Army and is an Iraq war veteran. He has been working in Law Enforcement for the past ten years. Between our two careers we have found encouraging values in children is key to parenting. My husband and I have four children. We started working with our children on Army Values when our oldest were around 5 years old. The Army Values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. We taught them the meaning of the values in words they could understand. We showed them examples in each of our lives. Three years later, we are still discussing our values. If I see one of the kids putting someone else first, I let them know they are showing the value of selfless service and give them praise. Through my work as a therapist the issue that comes up the most with clients of all ages is self esteem. It has become clear there is a connection between values and self esteem. Families can spend more time focusing on values and communication. In turn, that would build self esteem in children and solve some of today's problems.
Parenting:
We are very traditional in our parenting methods. But teaching kids about values can be used for any parenting philosophy. The most important components are discussing and modeling your values. This can help open up communication between you and your child. It can also help hold you accountable for your actions. When you work with your children on specific goals, you are building self esteem. Start now by building strong character and value to give them the start they need.
Help Us with our child:
If you need to consult on behavior and parenting techniques, contact me or visit my website Ivie Wellness Center.
Thank you so much for being part of this community. I would love to hear more ideas on how you encourage values in your children.