Character Challenge for Kids: Respect

Day 4: Respect

A person of character recognizes that all people are made in God’s image and are a child of His, therefore we treat all people with honor, dignity and courtesy. We respect their privacy and freedoms, are polite to them and accept any differences.

Whew! Take a second here and read that paragraph again slowly. Respect is vital and it is something getting more and more lost in our moder society, thus extremely important for us to be training our kids in.

In Ephesians 6, children are reminded to “honor thy father and mother”. We can help them learn how to be respectful by modeling it, using respectful language ourselves and by teaching our kids right responses.

Let’s have some fun learning the concept of respect with our kids today! We’ll follow three simple steps and begin with an object lesson that everyone can do together.

Step 1: Respect Object Lesson

We are alike and different, so we must learn to accept one another. For this object lesson we will get to know each other a little better and recognize some of our similarities and differences.

• Give your children a large stack of old magazines. Have them cut or tear out photos of things that they LIKE. Maybe its a picture of a pizza, a kitten, a playground, or broccoli.
• Have them put the pictures in a large paper bag. You can just set this in front of them, and they can add to it as they go.
• When they are finished, go through the bag and hold up each photo for the children to observe. They should raise their hand if they like it.
• Create two different piles. One pile for if the children unanimously like it, and another pile if not all of them like it.

Were they surprised about how many likes they had in common or not? In what other ways are they alike and different?

This would be a good time to talk about how people are different—different colors, different sizes, different hair cuts, different shapes and different types of families and homes. BUT, we can always find some things in common, and choose to accept the different things.

Step 2: Family Activities Encouraging Respect

Here are some suggested activities regarding respect. I gave you several examples, because every family is different, and what might be a good fit for your family, might not be the perfect fit for another family. Here we go!

• Create a garden of good manners. There are many choices when it comes to respectful language. This activity can be done as tulips for girls, or tools for boys (although you might just want to keep it simple and all do tulips). Use construction paper to cut out tops of tulips in various colors. Write polite words and phrases on them like thank you, please, may I…, how do you do, pardon me, excuse me, after you, you’re welcome. Glue the tulips on a large sheet of paper and draw stems. Then tell your child, “You’ve created a garden of good manners. You can use these “flowers” or “tools” at any time.”
• Brush up on respect. I love this idea for students in grades 3-5 that guides you through helping your kids ask what respect looks like and sounds like and feels. Kids will use a toothpaste tube to make an “R”, and then be told there was a mistake—the R is actually for rude not respect. Students will be asked to take the word back and challenged to get the toothpaste back in the tube. It is impossible to take disrespectful and hurtful words back. A great illustration for the mess that ugly words can cause.
• Manners place mat. This is great for preschoolers or older, and will help remind them at each meal how to be polite. Have the children write on a large sheet of paper things that are important to remember when at the table. For example, chew with your mouth closed, no elbows on the table, don’t reach, thank the cook. They can draw a picture to go with it. Laminate the completed mat or seal it closed between two sheets of clear self-adhesive plastic.
• Teddy Bear Tea Party. Set up a tea party for your kiddos. Invite them each to bring their favorite teddy bear or stuffed animal. As you enjoy your tea together, have the children go around the table and have their stuffed animal share something nice about the person to their left. Then go around again and say something about the person to the right. You could also choose to play the game first and then set up the tea party, reminding the children to set a good example for their bears and use good manners.
• Make a recipe together. Choosing a recipe might require compromise and cooperation—an agreement where both sides give in a little to reach a settlement somewhere in the middle. Ask them what sort of compromise would make both children happy? You might also need to compromise on eating what you make—like dividing it in even pieces. How can they share it? Here are some of our favorite recipes for this time of year:
  • Energy Bites – I love that this is easy to make with toddlers because you don’t have to worry about raw eggs or other ingredients you don’t want getting in their mouths.
  • Yogurt Bites – excellent with fresh picked strawberries (use this guide to find a local place to go pick some strawberries!)
  • Marshmallow Peanut Popcorn – I know of a mom who set her popcorn machine on a sheet in the middle of the floor, and then turned on the machine and let the popcorn fly out when it was cooked. The kids of course loved it!
  • Amish Hats – Such a fun snack idea for kids—and simple and quick too!

Several of these activities have been adapted from a cute little guide that I found at a yardsale several years ago called Character Counts: A Parent’s Guide to Preparing Your Child to Make Good Choices. It looks like its out of print but you can find a few used copies on Amazon.

Step 3: Children’s Books & Movies That Help Teach Respect

For extra learning today, here are some excellent resources to help your family dig deeper into the virtue of respect. You might even be able to find some of these books, or similar books, on your shelf that you can use to encourage respect. Enjoy!

Books

• Berenstain Bears: Show Some Respect – If my youngest sees a Berenstain Bears book he immediately grabs it and asks me to sit down and read it to him. 🙂
• The Children’s Book of Virtues – all families should have this book on their shelf! Such great stories of virtue!!
• The Boxcar Children – The children model respectfulness toward their grandpa and others. They also have movies available on hoopla (your Lancaster library card gives you free access to this).
• Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship – this is a great guide to help you read this book to your kids and have a discussion.

Songs

• Do To Others Song by Hide Em in Your Heart – this collection of songs written to Scripture are just incredible. One of the songs is Do to others as you would have them do to you… The tunes are so catchy and we refer to them all the time in our family!

Movies

• Babe – Babe minds his manners and practices polite phrases. Great for kids ages 4+.
• Mary Poppins – Laugh along with this movie, as Mary Poppins gently, yet humorously, teaches the Banks kids important lessons of respect towards others and their things. Rated G.
• Ice Age – Shows how being respectful is especially difficult when two people are very different, but it is worth the challenge to work together. Great for ages 6+.
• Remember the Titans – A football team learns the importance of respecting each other, despite outside differences. Respect looks at the inside of a person. Recommended for ages 10+.

Additional Resources

Our family has found many resources over the years that have helped us with character training. Here are our favorites:

• Character First – Offers printable coloring sheets and stories, online videos including poems and songs for children to learn with an incredibly engaging instructor, and discussion starters perfect for mealtime. You have to create an account, but its all FREE!
• Godly Character Traits – A printable resource that is beautifully designed for mom to enjoy as she prepares to instruct her children. Its simplicity makes it quick and easy to define the virtue, consider the opposite, live it out and role-play it with your children. Also included are verses to memorize and notes of application and encouragement for mom.
• The Character Corner – Kathie has written several excellent blog posts on character, and also sells an intense character training guide that takes you step by step through quick daily character training on many different virtues.
• Character Quality Certificates – A unique way to let your children know that they’ve shown a particular character trait, and that’s what God desires for them! It reminds them that they’ll find great joy throughout their life as they show this character over and over again.
• Family Life – They have some excellent character development articles, along with object lessons and activities.

Character Challenge Kids Camp at Home

Please join us all week long, as we journey through the 7 B’s of life! Each day has activities to choose from a faith object lesson, craft, and activities just like this post does for respect.

• Day 1: Be Kind by Inspire by Family
• Day 2: Be Honest by Not Just a SAHM
• Day 3: Be Content by Laurie Christine
• Day 4: Be Respectful by Frugal Lancaster
• Day 5: Be Obedient by Families with Grace
• Day 6: Be Faithful by His Purpose in Me
• Day 7: Be Generous by Raising Everyday Disciples

I challenge you to catch your child being respectful this week. Point it out right away, or make a point at the end of the week to remember what they did and celebrate with them the respect that they’ve shown. We like to celebrate by presenting them with one of these character certificates at an ice cream party! 🙂