Parenting Best Practices to Develop Children’s Moral Character

[Dr. Thomas Lickona] Now we don’t have to start from scratch with a blank slate. There is good guidance we can get from available parenting research. Here’s a meta analysis of 76 studies carried out by Marvin Berkowitz and his colleague John Rich, looking at studies in the U.S., Canada and the UK. And they identified eight different character outcomes that fell within their broad definition of moral character. You see those on the screen ranging from empathy to self-control. They identified five “super practices,” that they call “The Fabulous Five” – parenting practices that related to at least two, often more, of those eight positive character outcomes. And those are: setting high expectations, helping kids to meet them – that was how authority was used. Nurturance – how love was expressed. Modeling – acting in the ways you want children to imitate. Reasoning – helping kids understand how their behavior affects others, and empowerment – giving children voice and responsibility in family life.