Children can be easily influenced by their surroundings. Hence, parents must expose them to the best materials to learn from. A great example is the short stories for kids with moral lessons by Nopson.
The technological age has impacted every aspect of people’s lives, from improved communication to ease and the development of different shopping behaviors. Beyond these scopes, technological advancements have also significantly affected parenting.
Gone are the days when parents actively disciplined children for wrongdoings or behaviors that opposed their preferences. Instead, parents have started to practice child-centered rearing, where parenting centers more on the interests of children. Parents are now more flexible about their rules and beliefs to cater to their children, thus rarely holding them accountable for their actions. There’s also a growing practice of parents leaving their children to learn or spend more time with devices, which, more often than not, don’t teach any valuable lessons for them.
These changes in parenting and media accessibility emphasize children’s need for more and better guidance. With countless stimuli present in today’s world, children may only be a click away from content that can lead them astray; media that blurs the line between right and wrong and influence them toward the wrong things.
How Do Children Learn?
It’s important to remember that children are like sponges the younger they are. They’re highly impressionable. They absorb and learn from what their environment provides and set examples.
For instance, children can learn from their parents by mirroring the behaviors they see. Parents are responsible for ensuring they’re always on their best behavior before their children. They must live their values and proactively approach teaching by discussing good and bad behavior with their children. Additionally, as impressionable as they are, parents must inspect the materials they’re consuming and ensure they’re only exposed to proper media.
Books are a common source of learning for children. But only some books published will be catered to teaching children moral lessons. Parents must curate books that offer the best and maximize their children’s learning. A Collection of Children’s Short Stories by Ruth Nopson is a perfect example. These short stories for kids with moral lessons by Nopson teach children numerous valuable lessons through various stories of animals and other fascinating characters.
If children are only exposed to these materials, they aren’t at risk of learning behaviors that are contrary to what they’re supposed to learn. In searching for children’s materials, here are some important values to look for:
Honesty
There’s a significant part in children’s development where they learn about truths and lies. They must identify and understand which of the two they should follow or observe. While learning about the pros and cons of honesty and lying, it can be easy for them to spiral down and instead practice the latter.
Guidance and reinforcement are vital throughout this learning process. Parents aren’t the only influence children are exposed to. External factors may also teach or sway them to lie, and parents will only sometimes be present to keep children’s environment under control. To unlearn what needs to be unlearned, parents can use positive or negative reinforcement accordingly. This helps children identify which behaviors can be kept and which must be let go.
Respect
Respect is vital for children’s interactions from their childhood until their adulthood. Hence, they must learn about it as soon as possible. Applying courteousness throughout daily routine can help model respect to children. This starts with simple expressions such as thank you, please, you’re welcome, and others.
Respect is one of the values that’s commonly expressed through words and actions. Mirroring and modeling are the learning methods most suitable for teaching this. However, a discussion may be the most necessary when teaching children about respecting others’ opinions.
Gratitude
It can be difficult for children to express gratitude and appreciate those that have helped them. But the slightest expression of appreciation can already go a long way.
Teaching children to appreciate even the most minor things can remind them about the blessings they’re receiving. This also teaches them the value of things and helps them realize that not everyone can receive these blessings. Appreciation has power, especially when motivating others to be the best they can be. It also helps encourage positive thinking the more they learn to count their blessing.
Justice
Justice can be quite a complex concept for children to understand. But children’s materials can help reduce this value into something they can consume and comprehend. In some cases, they may be able to understand how justice works. They may feel unfair or frustrated in situations they’re at a disadvantage. It can easy to express the need for fair treatment. However, when they’re on the opposite side of the coin, it can also be tough being the ones making amends. Parents should ensure they’ve taught children the possible consequences of their actions and what they can do to make peace with those they’ve hurt. This can start by simply parroting “I’m sorry” and teaching them the power of apology.
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