SAY What YOU Mean and MEAN What YOU Say to Children says Mrs. Good Choice

Mrs. Good Choice is a former public school principal who has spent her life teaching children to make wise choices.  She now wants to help YOU!

Teaching children in today’s world is a tough job. It doesn’t matter if you are a parent, guardian, home school parent, or educator, the task is the most important job you will ever do.  My belief is before you can begin teaching children anything you need to have your own value system in place.

Children are smart!  Their actions often model what they witness first hand. So it is our job to model expectations that we want our children or students to exhibit. Honesty and integrity are two of the most important character traits a child can learn.  If they can learn the importance of being honest at an early age, it will help them to become responsible adults who are able to form their own value system.

As a parent or educator, it is important to have a discipline plan in place.  Children need routines and consistency in order to learn their boundaries.  If you tell a child you are going to do something; make sure you follow through. SAY what YOU Mean and MEAN what YOU Say!  Children learn quickly who to believe and who not to believe.

Examine your own actions on a daily basis.  Are you treating others the way you want your children to do?  Do you always tell the truth, no matter what the circumstances in tell?  Have you heard the old saying Apples don’t fall far from the trees?  Don’t forget that little eyes and ears are watching and listening.  It is our job to model our expectations at all times.

If you have questions I can help answer, please email me at dawn@mrsgoodchoice.com. Mrs. Good Choice is the new Dear Abby for children. You and your children may want to email me together.  Expect an answer from Mrs. Good Choice in a timely manner.

Blessings until next time,

Children’s Author                                                                                                                                                   Dawn Young Ed.S

Teach Children to Tell the TRUTH with Help from Mrs. Good Choice

Mrs. Good Choice is a former public school principal who has spent her life teaching children to make wise choices.  She now wants to help YOU!

Teach your children to tell the TRUTH.  How can I do that you may ask yourself? There are many great articles and books available to parents and educators about teaching honesty.  In today’s world, the help of social media is just a finger tip away.

Pinterest is full of wonderful ideas and activities for parents and educators.  I am including in this blog; How to Teach Children to Tell the Truth, a list of seven tips by Dr. Robyn Silverman.  I agree with this list one hundred percent.

1. Keep your cool
2. Don’t set traps
3. Avoid labels
4. Give children a chance for a do-over
5. Praise truth telling
6. Figure out why they are lying
7. Set a good example

You can find more on the Teach HONESTY says Mrs. Good Choice Pinterest Board.

If you are having problems with a child not being honest, encourage them to write to Mrs. Good Choice. Mrs. Good Choice is the new Dear Abby for children.

If you have questions I can help answer, please email me at dawn@mrsgoodchoice.com. You and your children may email me together.  Expect an answer from Mrs. Good Choice in a timely manner.

I will be discussing teaching children about HONESTY all month.

Blessings until next time,

Children’s Author

Dawn Young

 

 

 

Teach Children to be HONEST with the Help of Mrs. Good Choice !

Mrs. Good Choice is a former public school principal who has spent her life teaching children to make wise choices.  She now wants to help YOU

 

How many of us have heard the old saying Honesty is always the best policy?  My parents reminded me of this statement time and time again when I was a young child.  I can still hear my mom’s voice in my mind.

My wish for our younger generation is to always tell the truth.  When this happens, children turn in to honest adults that teach their children to do the same thing.  Our world becomes a better place.

The key question is how can we teach such a valuable character trait?  Research shows that children ages 3 -5 years often tell untruths.  They are still at an age of development.  It takes time for them to distinguish between real world and fantasy at this stage of development.

One reason young children may not be honest is because they may want to try to please their adult role model.  Another reason is that they may fear getting in to trouble.  Often they may be engaging in wishful thinking or they could be just plain confused.

It is our jobs as adults, to teach children the meaning of honesty before we can set expectations. Teach children that honesty is in how they act.  Stress the important of only stating facts about other people that they see with their own eyes or hear with their own ears.

Give them examples of what this means.  Make up games to play together about honesty.  Ask questions that they can answer yes or no (true or false).  Example:  Grandma lives in our house?  A dog has two legs?

Teach children that it is important to always admit to their own actions, even if they may get in to trouble.  As a principal, when children came to my office because of a discipline issue, I always told them they needed to be honest and tell me the truth.   I explained to them that their consequences would be less harsh if they were honest.

Children need to understand that honesty means explaining what really happened in particular situations.  We have to teach children the importance of doing the right thing the first time.

Read books to your children about honesty.  Benjamin’s Belligerent Bandit is the second book in my Mrs. Good Choice Series.  Benjamin blames someone for doing something without proof.  You can find it at www.amazon.com.

If you have questions I can help answer, please email me at dawn@mrsgoodchoice.com. You and your children may email me together.  Expect an answer from Mrs. Good Choice in a timely manner.

Blessings until next time,

Children’s Author

Dawn Young