From generations past, the family has been one of the strongest pillars of every human society regardless of culture, tribe, race, religion and all other conditions that may seem to make us differ. Therefore, I dare to say that the family is the most important unit of every society and everybody in the society is member of a family irrespective of the type

As parents, guardians and custodians of children who are the future generation, how can we exemplify core family values amid varying societal and media anomalies that are bent on crushing the family unit? Below are some of the things we can do:

Begin Early: For every stage of your child’s development, identify and introduce values as basic as love, patience, cleanliness, honesty, diligence, respect, to mention a few. The earlier a child is exposed to these positive values, the easier it is for that child to defend it and reject any form of contradiction in later life. It is very dangerous to assume that your child is incapable or too young to interpret and emulate your actions. Just the way children can read off our emotions, so are they capable of observing and emulating our actions.

Communicate the “Why”: Engage in conversations and explanations that will help your child to understand the “why” behind your actions. You will not always be available 24/7 but your child can better express appropriate behaviors when he/she understands the reason. For instance, when you use any of the magic words (Please, Excuse me, I’m sorry, Thank you, Pardon me) as often as it is required, it becomes a routine and eventually a good habit for your child to imbibe regardless of who they are addressing and even in your absence.

Be consistent: Practice, they say, makes perfect. Instilling family values cannot be a one off exercise but must become daily practices that will ultimately build up your child’s character and become a way of life.

Breakdown in our Family values is at the core of our societal mishaps. Therefore, we must all take active steps to inculcate core family values early in our children, help them understand the importance of these values and make it part and parcel of their lives whether we are physically present or not.