The Building Blocks of Good Character

The Building Blocks of Good Character are a visual presentation of the many experiences that form a foundation of good character. Teaching children to make good choices is a huge part of building their character. The blocks help focus us on the many ways that we can help our children learn to make good choices based on the lessons we teach them.

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Values

There are dozens of values that families teach their children and no doubt every family has its own set of the values they feel are important. Kidoodlepets focuses on six values, the Back Bones of Character, which are important for all children and are reinforced by caring for a pet: Be Caring, Contribute, Have Courage, Be Dependable, Be Fair, Have Respect. In essence values are rules and parents are the teachers who explain the rules to their children.

Etiquette & Manners

Etiquette and Manners are the codes of behavior that society expects us to live by. They’re behavior standards that we expect everyone to follow and are based on being kind to everyone and treating them like we would like to be treated. They also get specific about the way we act in given situations. All members of a family are expected to have manners - even the pets!

Role Models & Teachers

Acting as role models is the single most influential lesson we can teach our children. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, extended family and teachers are the most important role models for children. We teach our kids how to do what’s right by doing it ourselves.

Literature & Music

Reading literature that has people with good character (and pointing out bad character examples in literature to our children) as well as exposing our children to music that has a message of positive values helps reinforce our values.

Heroes & Legends

Heroes and “legends” that have a reputation for outstanding character are important for children to look up to. In today’s world it’s very important to choose “heroes” that model our values. When heroes we admire excel at their job but fail to live up to the rules it gives us the unfortunate opportunity to explain why they no longer deserve our respect.

Laws of Society

The laws of our society, state and country were developed to keep us from doing bad things. They teach us right and wrong and that there are consequences for not obeying the law. The law is often the ultimate teacher of the rules of society. It’s important that we parents have, and teach our children, a healthy respect for the law.

Religion

Religions are specific belief systems adopted by groups of people that generally incorporate their spiritual belief in a higher power, a set of moral values and specific teachings. It’s important that we all respect each other’s religions. Children need to understand and be exposed to different religions so they can form their beliefs.

Ethics & Morals

Ethics are standards or rules that are adopted by various professions, associations, cultures, or societies and are the beliefs that a group agrees on. Morals are adopting and living up to those standards.