What is the Best Age to Teach Virtues?

Question: My child is 2 years old. Is he too young for me to start teaching Virtues to him?

• Answer: Start with the three rules for the very little ones. We usually recommend you begin teaching the catchphrases at age three. He is a little young to memorize or do the demonstrations, but if you set the principles of Virtue as a standard in your home, and start modeling them and teaching him to be obedient, kind and helpful, you will be amazed at how easy it is to add the other Virtues as he starts maturing.

Question: My son is 12 and I want him to learn Virtues, but are they a little young for him?

• Answer: Yes, but we do offer a Youth Virtue Journal for Jr. High and High School age students. The journal acts as a discussion guide that we recommend they do with a caring adult. It was created for Family Court as part of a mentoring program for troubled youth in Idaho. Its purpose is to give a young person time to reflect on what virtues they naturally have and don’t have and how having or not having virtue will affect their relationships and their futures. It gives their mentor a chance to help them set goals to grow in their personal virtue. There are 9 virtues covered in this journal. Check out our Youth collection!

Question: Do you have plans to expand your program for older children and youth?

• Answer: Yes! New products are in the works right now. We plan to release something new every couple of months and some of these new products will be for older kids, teens, and adults!

Question: I have a mixed age group that I work with. Would We Choose Virtues work for me?

• Answer: Absolutely! Whether it is a family or a classroom full of mixed ages, Virtues is ideal. Get the older kids involved in memorization drills, setting up demonstrations, reading the story of the Kid from VirtueVille or giving an example from their own life about how a virtue made an impact. This kind of interaction will cause the teacher to learn as much as her little listeners ever will. The Parenting Cards (for teaching at home) or the Teacher Cards (for teaching in a classroom) are a perfect tool for this situation.

Question: My mother has my kids at her house quite a bit and she wants to do something constructive with them. Would this be simple for her to do?

• Answer: I love this question because We Choose Virtues is so simple and it opens up doors for conversation, story-telling, and memory making. Grandparents get to use a tool that is visually attractive to kids from this generation, while teaching values from times gone bye. One of my favorite stories comes from a grandpa and his little garage-sale buddy who learned her Virtues at his house.

We make longer wagon rides possible. 

I met a spunky little three year-old girl in a red wagon at a garage sale with her grandpa.  

He knew that I was the creator of We Choose Virtues, so he encouraged his granddaughter to recite her Virtues for me. 

She proudly told me the ones she could remember and then said “I know ALL of them, but I don’t DO them yet!” 

“Well” I said, “Why don’t you just use ‘I am Content’? All you have to do is be happy in your wagon!” 

She said “Oh, I AM using THAT one. I have my ‘Wanter’ under control with this one book and that is all.” 

Her grandpa said “It’s true!” And off they strolled to another sale.