Stop. For just one moment, stop and picture the future you want to see.
What would your ideal neighborhood, community, country, and even the world be like? Describe it. Write down a list of words describing the characteristics necessary for today’s children to make that picture come true. Share your list and encourage others to make their own. You will likely find many values in common and some you may have missed. We already live in a global society due to advances in technology, and by the time our youngest children are adults their connections to the world will look much different than ours did growing up.
Just as we teach our children how to tie their shoes, we must teach our children how to have compassion for others and our environment. Parents are a child’s first teacher of values. Our picture of the world that we share with our children should be as wide as a landscape mural, encompassing a deep respect for differences, the ability to think critically, and to imagine solutions beyond our own experiences.
As parents, we must be intentional. Intentional parents have purpose. They catch those natural moments to teach values, differences, compassion, justice, etc. For example, your preschooler is beginning to focus on differences in people. Dramatic play at this time often involves acting out roles or dressing up as a teacher, mom, firefighter, or doctor.
Show them that differences make the world special. Read stories about children of various races. Sing songs from various cultures together. Many great varieties of music are available for free at your local library. Talk about how things work in our communities by answering questions like how eggs get from a chicken to the grocery store or how a letter travels to Grandma’s house. Also, encourage recycling. Let them help separate paper from plastic.
How to know when to introduce these themes? Carefully watch your child at play and really “see” what her play tells you about her readiness to be coached on different values. You might need to intervene and coach in the moment, or you may need to wait and coach after the “game” is over, when your child will be more receptive.
You are the most important person in your child’s life. More than anything in the world, your child longs for your love and approval and will follow your value system. You can teach your children the skills they need to be successful tomorrow. Kids are gems in the making. Parents are the jewelers; polishing the gem and placing it in a setting. What do you want their setting to look like?
Vicki Thrasher Cronin is the director of community and civic engagement at Ready 4 K. She has worked early childhood education for 30 years.
