E Is for Ethics: How to Talk to Kids About Morals, Values, and What Matters Most
Teaching children ethics, values, and morals has become a real challenge for parents today. These topics aren't usually covered in school curriculums, and many families no longer attend religious services, so most modern moms and dads are clamoring for a helping hand.\ Ian James Corlett, an award-winning children's TV writer, was inspired to write this book as his own family grappled with this issue. When Ian's two kids were very young, he and his wife started a weekly discussion period he...
Search in google:
Teaching children ethics, values, and morals has become a real challenge for parents today. These topics aren't usually covered in school curriculums, and many families no longer attend religious services, so most modern moms and dads are clamoring for a helping hand. Ian James Corlett, an award-winning children's TV writer, was inspired to write this book as his own family grappled with this issue. When Ian's two kids were very young, he and his wife started a weekly discussion period he dubbed "Family Fun Time." Every Monday after dinner, they all sat down and Ian would tell his two kids tales about two young children, Elliott and Lucy, who were much like them. - They hated going to the dentist. - They were disappointed when a favorite aunt couldn't visit. - They dreaded raking the leaves in their backyard. Ian's kids really looked forward to these talks and they hardly even realized that the stories were serving a deeper purpose — to teach tact, understanding, and responsibility. So he decided to write these stories down to help other parents — like you. The result is in your hands: twenty-six simple, clear, original, and entertaining stories for you to read aloud with your child. Teaching your children values, life skills, and ethics has never been so much fun! Publishers Weekly When their two children were young, kids’ TV writer and animator Corlett and his wife initiated a weekly family after-dinner discussion to explain and foster ethical and moral values. Admitting that he is a plain old dad and not a Ph.D. in ethics, Corlett nonetheless felt obliged to address the void in moral education left as school and even Sunday school curricula stopped routinely teaching ethics for “it seems no one wants to touch the subject of right and wrong anymore.” He developed two charming and lovably humorous characters—Elliot and his sister, Lucy—and 26 story situations that take place in families, at school, in team sports and in the community, each of which demonstrates a different ethic ranging from honesty and understanding through forgiveness, courage and perseverance to loyalty, gratitude, fairness and acceptance. Even citizenship, generosity, trust and respect are covered as Elliot and Lucy encounter life’s moral predicaments. Each of the 250-word “lessons” is followed by a “what would you do?” kind of question, the definition of a moral quality with accompanying short commentary and a pertinent famous quote or two, which together point youngsters toward doing the right thing and understanding why. Most likely to be well received by younger kids, this charming, interactive little book is appropriate for kids preschool to tween age and their parents. (Dec.)
\ 1\ \ Honesty\ It was a rainy winter day. Elliott was walking to the video store with his mother to pick up a movie for the evening. Mom was looking for a light comedy to watch with Dad as the fireplace crackled, but Elliott had nothing but spaceships on his mind. That is, until he noticed a crisp, new five-dollar bill lying on the ground at the entrance to the shop. His mother didn’t see it as she entered the video store, but Elliott locked on it like a tractor beam. Since no one was around, he picked it up and shoved it deep into his pocket.\ As he drifted toward the “Outer Space” section, Elliott could not believe his good luck. He could hardly concentrate on selecting a movie because he was daydreaming about all the wild and wonderful ways he could spend his newfound fortune. He wandered around in such a daze that he didn’t even realize that not only had he not chosen a movie, but he was now standing in the checkout line beside his mother, who was waiting to pay.\ Suddenly, his daydream was shattered when the lady in front of them, who was frantically searching through her purse, gasped. “I am positive I had five dollars,” she said. “I know because I just got a nice, crisp one in change from the last store ? Oh, heavens! It must’ve dropped out of my bag!”\ Elliott’s heart sank.Would he be honest and give the lady the five-dollar bill?\ QUESTION\ What would be the honest thing for Elliott to do?\ As with so many ethical qualities, being honest makes you feel great inside. Sometimes it’s difficult to be honest with others or even yourself, but when you are, there is no better way of life. Elliott felt great when he was guided by honesty about the money.\ MORE QUESTIONS\ What else could Elliott have done as soon as he found the five-dollar bill?\ How would Elliott have felt later if he had decided to keep the five dollars?\ Can you tell us about a situation you can remember when you or a friend displayed honesty?\ “Honesty is the best policy.”\ WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE\ “Honesty: The best of all the lost arts.”\ MARK TWAIN\ © 2009 Ian James Corlett
Foreword ix\ 1 Honesty 1\ 2 Understanding 5\ 3 Forgiveness 9\ 4 Courage 13\ 5 Tact 17\ 6 Perseverance 21\ 7 Politeness 25\ 8 Loyalty 29\ 9 Gratitude 33\ 10 Truthfulness 37\ 11 Fairness 41\ 12 Acceptance 45\ 13 Patience 49\ 14 Sincerity 53\ 15 Citizenship 57\ 16 Integrity 61\ 17 Kindness 65\ 18 Responsibility 69\ 19 Effort 73\ 20 Empathy 77\ 21 Charity 81\ 22 Helpfulness 85\ 23 Generosity 89\ 24 Willingness 93\ 25 Trust 97\ 26 Respect 101\ A New Year 105\ Acknowledgments 107
\ Publishers WeeklyWhen their two children were young, kids’ TV writer and animator Corlett and his wife initiated a weekly family after-dinner discussion to explain and foster ethical and moral values. Admitting that he is a plain old dad and not a Ph.D. in ethics, Corlett nonetheless felt obliged to address the void in moral education left as school and even Sunday school curricula stopped routinely teaching ethics for “it seems no one wants to touch the subject of right and wrong anymore.” He developed two charming and lovably humorous characters—Elliot and his sister, Lucy—and 26 story situations that take place in families, at school, in team sports and in the community, each of which demonstrates a different ethic ranging from honesty and understanding through forgiveness, courage and perseverance to loyalty, gratitude, fairness and acceptance. Even citizenship, generosity, trust and respect are covered as Elliot and Lucy encounter life’s moral predicaments. Each of the 250-word “lessons” is followed by a “what would you do?” kind of question, the definition of a moral quality with accompanying short commentary and a pertinent famous quote or two, which together point youngsters toward doing the right thing and understanding why. Most likely to be well received by younger kids, this charming, interactive little book is appropriate for kids preschool to tween age and their parents. (Dec.)\ \
