Know Better, Do Better

This afternoon I feel the need to chime in on teaching our children kindness after reading a social media post from a parent about their child who was being made fun of. She was right, we are way past the ol' "Boys don't cry" and "only girls wear pink" era of raising our children. Society today is much different than when I grew up in the 60's but one thing has not changed! There is so much bullying, shame. guilt ridden, finger pointing people still today. C'mon people, know better and do better, it's not that difficult.

Kindness goes a long way, a compliment, a smile, an honest conversation or time spent with an ailing friend, family or neighbor who needs some warmth and to be shown that the world isn't all a mess, that there are good people, kind people and people who want to make a difference. Be that person. Light up a room with your smile, share a compliment and be a role model, an example if you will.

Do you stop to think that your own children are watching what you do? Do you stop to think that your won children are listening to what you say? Do you stop to think that your won children are picking up your daily habits, language and how you treat others? Well, they are, like it or not. Therefore, it's so important to be a positive role model, to be kind, to say kind words because words hurt.

I have very often used an example of when I taught preschool and I had a young boy who came into our classroom on a daily basis very disruptive. One morning he came in flipped a desk and automatically sat in the back of the room, He knew what he had done was wrong but he did not know how to change his behaviors. I sat down under the desk beside him and I asked him. "Giovanni, what can Miss Joni do to help you behave when you come into our class?" And from the mouth of babes, he replied, "Teach me"

This is a perfect example of our children wanting to be better and do better and it is up to us, the adult to encourage them to make good choices in their behaviors and conversations and especially how they treat others and themself. It takes an awareness to be present in conversations and actions with our own children and it is time well spent, I promise!

Another example I share often when in the classroom was when the children were bullying one another or even tattling. First, define the difference between the two, a tattle and a bully. I had two students who were not nice to other children, constantly saying mean things and even using mean actions, like pushing and pinching. One day, I took the two aside in private and asked them, "How would you like it if somebody said that to you, or even did that to you?" The response was, "I don't care" Until the table was flipped and they were being bullied, they were being told mean things, and it was only then that they understood how it made another child. Sometimes we need to be harsh to get our point across but when a child understands a situation and the conversation they are more likely to want to be better and do better. So, my rant for today is just that, know better, be better and do better because we are all role models. Somebody is listening and somebody is watching you.

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." - Maya Angelou

Hi, I'm Miss Joni and I created the Characters of Character many years ago to help reinforce and teach our children and youth these vital core values and to build a firm foundation for them to understand, to engage in and to empower them to make good choices and to be better, do better and to know better. You can meet the Characters here.

I am passionate about making a difference, nobody wants to see a child be bullied, lack confidence, be disrespectful, have no responsibilities, have poor habits, not try, lack good behavior, lack friends, or have awful manners. We encourage you to talk with your children about these traits, to build them up, empower them and allow them to see the good, feel the good and be the good every day!

Each character has their own page on our website under Meet the Team and scroll to the trait you are working with your children to find our books, check out our blogs for free activities to do with your children and our newsletter. Then, to build their literacy and communication skills, let them be the detective with a Composition Notebook and ask them to write down and draw pictures about the people they see and know who have character, choose a trait. "Who do you know who has good manners?" Use your notebook to write about them! Write notes to your children in them! Use them to converse in a different way and ask questions your child will engage in!

Click here for a Travel Pal and take the character with you wherever you go, the car, the park, the store, etc. use as a visual reminder to be of good character!

Please, talk with your children, don't talk at them, but to them, engage them and discuss the importance of being kind, not to be a bully and to help others, their peers and remember we are all different on the outside, but the same on the inside.

Miss Joni and Team Characters