Passing Virtue to your Children

This past summer I was walking with a friend who was getting ready to send her first born off to college. She was telling me how she hopes they have taught him everything he needs to know about being a nice, independent, successful, young man. Is there a checklist for all of those practical lessons in life, I wondered? This led to my taking some time to examine my success as a mother. Am I teaching my children to understand the importance of being virtuous? I know it’s a part of a mother’s job description — to teach them to be helpful, trustworthy, honest, motivated, patient, courteous, respectful, caring, tolerant, fair and the list goes on and becomes even more daunting. I picked up the book, 20 Teachable Virtues, Practical Ways to Pass on Lessons of Virtue and Character to Your Children  by Barbara C. Unell and Jerry L. Wyckoff, PhD. The take-away for me was  all the virtues I learned from my parents need to be  taught to our children. Only time will determine our success.  If you have some time, it is worth a read.