Using Your Values to Raise Your Child to Be an Adult You Admire

Rather than using family, church, or school activities to inculcate values in children, Dr. Harriet Heath, a developmental psychologist and parent educator, argues that parents should instead look to their own values to guide their child-rearing decisions. She demonstrates how parents can identify their own values and deal with conflicting values (their own, their partner’s, or society’s) in order to influence their children in ways they see as important; eliminate failure and frustration in guiding and disciplining children by taking into consideration temperament, learning style, development, and basic needs; and provide their children with values that can enable them to leave a productive life. With their own beliefs as a solid foundation, parents can avoid destructive and inconsistent missteps.