It’s time once again for Heather Johnson from Family Volley to share some of her amazing Parenting Tips on Teaching Values Through Children’s Values from childrens story books as part of her “Parenting Tips Series” here on The Room. Here’s Heather in her own words.
–Amy
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We love children’s books at our house. You probably do too!
But children’s books aren’t just for kids, they are great tools for us as parents too. A good story book can be one of our best allies in parenting.
Children’s books are a great resource we can use to teach our children. They can help our children through new stages of life. They can teach our children how to handle experiences that are unfamiliar and new. They are a great way to teach our children values and appropriate social behavior. Children’s books can even help ease anxiety and help children cope with situations like moving, bullying, or starting kindergarten.
Good books also allow our children to hear messages from someone else, so they don’t feel like they are constantly hearing reprimands and counsel from us.
We have favorite books at our house. Our favorite series is the Berenstain Bears. One of our favorites is “Forget their Manners.” The book is a great example of how we can use children’s books as teaching tools.
In “Forget their Manners”, Sister Bear is in Brother Bear’s way, and instead of getting mad; Brother says, “No harm done.”
After reading this to our kids, we started saying “no harm done” around the house when similar situations happened. It helped our kids remember what they had been taught in the book and reiterate the principles in our every day experiences. It is this reiteration that solidifies the values that books teach.
Books have the power to teach our children life skills and values. They have an amazing way of emphasizing principles we are already trying to teach our children. Principles like using good manners. They can help shape our children’s character. Books are also a great way to help our children understand topics that we might not know how to explain.
There are MANY great book choices out there. Here are a few of our favorite children’s books that teach values. (Some are older, some are very common, some you might have never heard of, and some you will have to find in your parents basement.)
· “The Empty Pot” by Demi – From looking at the cover of this book, it wouldn’t be the first one you pulled off the shelf, but it is a MUST read for every family. The life lessons are endless. A MUST read! Find this one, acquire this one, check this one out.
· “Berenstain Bears” by Stan and Jan Berenstain – There are a number of Berenstain Bears books. Every one teaches valuable principles. The older books by Stan and Jan are my favorite.
· “I Like Myself” by Karen Beaumont – Teaches self-esteem and self confidence.
· “Why Do You Always Have To Say Please” by Wendy Rosen and Jackie End – Teaches proper manners, especially when you eat at a restaurant. Manners make things better for everyone.
· “Power Series” – 12 different books on a number of subjects (values and life skills. The power of Courage, The Power of Perseverance, etc…). These will be hiding in a basement next to the Encyclopedias and Childcraft books. Find them!
· “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Suess- We probably all have this at our house. It is a household favorite that teaches our children to try new things and eat their vegetables. Have you ever thought to apply it to your children’s lives that way?
· “The Little Engine that Could” by Watty Piper – Teaches perseverance and the importance of not giving up. My husband likes the clown, and likes to talk to our children about support and cheering for others.
· “If I Obey I’ll Be Happy All Day by Peggy Barton – One of the very best books about obedience. This is very old, and almost impossible to get your hands on, but if you can find one in a relatives basement, don’t let it get away.
The next time you are reading a book to your child, take a minute to think about how you could use the message to teach your children. Draw parallels and correlations and then incorporate those into your everyday life.
Bond with your child and teach values and life skills at the same time, by reading together. You will never regret it.
I shared these books with Studio 5 (a lifestyles show here in Utah) a few weeks ago. Watch the video for more details about each of the above books. Especially “The Empty Pot.” have I mentioned it is a must read?! The video lets you see each of the books, so you know what you are looking for.
Do you have a favorite children’s book? Share it with us!
Have a question or just want to say hello.
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