Teaching Honor Above Everything

Teaching Honor Above Everything

“Wisdom More Than Knowledge. Service Beyond Self. Honor Above Everything.” That’s our motto. These are the values that we strive to live by at Darlington, and hopefully instill into our children as parents. If we are going to live with honor above everything, how do we go about teaching that to our children? Primarily this is done by modeling it for our children. They watch everything we do, and if you live a life of honor, they will want to do the same. Sometimes, however, I like to have specific things I can do to help teach my children lessons. 

One of the ways that parents can teach honor, especially to younger children, is to include it in the way we give instructions to them. You might say to your children, for example, “I would like for you to help me by setting the table, then I want you to think of something extra to do to surprise me.  You choose; it’s up to you. Let me know when you're done and I will come see what you did.”

Being given the opportunity to surprise their parents is fun for young children. It gives them an opportunity to practice thinking about someone else’s needs and desires above their own. It also teaches them to not just get by with doing the minimum. When you child does an extra task, it’s like giving a gift. Receive the gift with joy, and thank them for being so thoughtful. When they get finished, this is a great time to explain to a child that thinking about others and doing more than what is expected is a way to show honor to someone. 

All family members need to learn honor. Children can learn it when parents live it and when parents teach it. So look for ways to teach kids to do more than what’s expected in daily life. It will not only make family life better now, but it will also help kids be more successful as they get older.