All kids need help from those caring and watching out for them to learn how to make best choices and develop good character. Kids with learning disabilities may need more support in character development to work around physical, social or mental shortcomings.

What is good character? One definition is the strength of will to make decisions and carry out plans that yield the best result for everyone concerned.

I've written a collection of social skills found at this link that break apart many aspects of developing character to the degree possible for kids over a range of abilities.

Kids learn best from the models they see, including parents and other family members, teachers and mentors, to name a few. As kids grow and mature we can expect that their ability to make better decisions and become wiser will increase and compound. That is a good reason for being a good role model for kids even when they are toddlers.

It does a child a great service while young and later to model good character. It is a lot easier to go through life walking down a smooth road, then stumbling over boulders and obstacles of unkind or wrong actions and having to deal with the unpleasant consequences.

Is it enough to be a good role model? I have found that being and acting like I want my kids to be is most of it, but also taking time to discuss the reason results go wrong is the other part of character training.

Because kids are in the process of growing up and still learning on all levels it is important to dive deep into sticky issues and resolve them, so the issues don't compound into adulthood.

If a child has a bad habit that affects others, for example, saying a put down or other negative response to another's success, it is really important to nip it in the bud before the child automatically says put downs rather than positive words of admiration or appreciation.

Negative thoughts lead to negative words and actions. Rather, turn around the negativity by telling the child it feels better and makes them personally a happier person by substituting kind thoughts and words when a negative thought creeps into their mind.

In summary, the combination of modeling good character traits and social skills with explaining on a deeper level as kids grow leads to good character development by adulthood.

Article by Susan Kramer

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