by Chris Schaffer

Created on: February 01, 2009

How do we pass on the values of our society to our children? This is an especially important question when you are trying to get specific and often complex message across to children in ways they will understand. An emerging problem in this area is also the influx of different cultures into our daily lives.

Multiculturalism is not something to shy away from. Out lives are made better by our contact with people of many different places and opinions. However, even cultures that share nearly identical ethical viewpoints go about understanding and describing ethics in many different ways. How you isolate the message you want your own child to understand in this sea of voices is key.

Luckily the first way to teach children about ethics is very simple: send them to school. From the very earliest stages of education children are learning ethics. This is a huge part of why the institutional form of education was formed; expressly to pass on specific viewpoints to a large audience. Children absorb thousands of lessons from their interaction with teachers and how their interaction with other children are structured by teachers and staff. In the same stroke, if you want your child to pick up a specific message you should look carefully into the school they are being sent to. Any student of a Catholic school knows that the experience and teachings there will be very different from the average public school. Through the simple task of getting your kid up and out the door in morning the widest stroke of the ethical brush will be done. The finer details are, of course, best filled in at home.

Many people associate ethics to religion in a direct way. While it is true that all major religious practices include rigorous ethical structures, this is only one of many ways to teach ethics to growing minds. The key - whether you use a religious or secular source - is consistency in early teaching. The message "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife" is clear; however, following this up with a story of David's numerous wives would be a poor choice. Most important is following through with action when teaching children. If you have laid out an ethical guideline it is important to ensure that your provide a physical model for that guideline. The old adage "do as I say not as I do," is one that only teaches confusion. There should also be more than just one source for good ethics.

Use multiple sources when you teach ethics. One passage, story, example, or proof is not enough to cement

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