We Are Creating Tomorrow's Adults Today. What Character Traits Do You Want Your Child & Ou

Today’s children are the adults of tomorrow. We, as parents, more than any other single factor,

influence the adults our children will become.

Right now, literally, interaction-by-interaction with our children, we are creating the adults of tomorrow, and for the most part, we’re winging it. And it is not because we don’t love our children and truly want what is best for them. It is because we have sort of blindly accepted an approach to parenting that has been unconsciously passed from one generation to the next, and accepted as the norm. It is an approach that leads us to believe it is okay to just wing it, and figure it out as we go. It is an approach that leaves the happiness and potential of our children, and the strength of our next generation of adults, to chance.

The very fiber of the connection we have with our children and our day to day interactions shape them at a core level. It is truly the soil in which the roots of character take hold, and traits including integrity, empathy, courage, perseverance, joy, resilience, respect and responsibility are formed. I don’t believe any of us want to leave that to chance. Yet our current fly by the seat of our pants approach doesn't ensure we have the understanding and skills required to develop those traits in our children, and help them become the best they can be.

150 years ago our ancestors believed women shouldn’t vote. Today we know that’s absurd, but at the time, men and women who considered themselves to be intelligent, informed, and caring, accepted this practice as the norm.

Let’s create a world in which our grandchildren

find it equally absurd that prior generations

thought it made sense to raise their children

without actually learning how to do so.

Our Starting Point is working to develop a database of parenting education programs throughout the country that will be available on our website and searchable by zip code. In the meantime:

We are starting a conversation about the character traits we want our children and the next of generation of adults to have.
Please let us know the character traits you believe are important. Tweet, post, text, email, fax, or call. Do you want your children to have integrity, empathy, or resilience? Perhaps having a strong work ethic, or being responsible, respectful, faithful, or a life-long learner matter in your family. We will:
Compile your responses and share the list.
Provide weekly “Tuesday Tips” with ideas you can use to help develop those character traits.
If you’d like to find parenting education and support resources in your community,your schools’ guidance office, the local hospital, or town clerk may be able to provide some direction. If you have trouble finding resources in your community, please contact us and we will work to help you find those resources.