Working Together
We teach families that honor means Treating people as special, doing more than what’s expected, and having a good attitude. That includes seeing what needs to be done and doing it. It means solving problems instead leaving them for others. One family had a sign in their kitchen that read:
If it’s broken, fix it.
If it’s empty, fill it up.
If it’s open, shut it.
If it’s out, put it away.
If it’s messy, clean it up.
If you can’t, then report it.
That’s honor.
Take time to teach children that they don’t have to be asked in order to do a job. Honor means that we’re all contributing to family life. In fact, you may ask a child to go around the house and look for one job that needs to be done and do it, then report back to you.
Assignments like this help children think outside the box and discover that they have a responsibility to the family. They can contribute to family life by just seeing something that needs to be done and doing it.
Of course, that’s what makes a valuable employee and friend too. You can teach your children something more important than just how to get along better in your family. You can be preparing them to be treasures as adults too.
For more practical ideas on teaching honor, consider the book, Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, in You and Your Kids by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.
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