TEACHING THE FOUR CORE VALUES

Honesty, Responsibility, Respect & Caring….the YMCA core values! These are the values we try to instill in the children that attend the YDC…not an easy task I’m sure any parent would agree! We expect our staff to be role models for the four core values. A society without values is destined to have no direction. Sometimes we have to stop and reflect on whether or not what we are saying and doing is actually having the affect that we intend.



It seems that Honesty is a pretty easy value to teach…tell the truth, maintain your integrity, and don’t waver on what you believe in. We seem to be able to pass on the value of Caring equally as easily…demonstrate concern for others, express in words and actions that you are passionate about the needs of others. Responsibility is not quite as easy.

Parents and staff struggle with how much and what exactly to make young children responsible for. Many of us think and feel that there are enough times as adults when everything we have to be responsible for is a heavy burden and children shouldn’t have to be burdened with so much responsibility. However, giving children responsibilities can be an empowering emotion for children. Think of the child that gets to be “mom’s” helper for the day or the child that gets to read to a younger child or the child that is the classroom helper for the day…all good examples of passing on the value of Responsibility.

Lastly, the value of Respect…a much more difficult value to teach. We as adults share the huge responsibility of teaching Respect. We say to children “you need to respect the adults in your life, respect property, respect authority, respect the environment and animals, respect others opinions, respect elders…” but many children have no idea what that actually means or what that behavior looks like. Teaching Respect is huge and encompasses so many other values and behaviors i.e.: kindness, good manners, caring, empathy, positive reinforcement, acceptance, problem solving and the list goes on! Teaching Respect even encompasses the way in which we say our words. Children are not skilled in problem solving nor are they skilled in showing good manners nor are they equipped to understand acceptance. We have to model behaviors such as responding to infants in a manner that soothes their cries rather than permits them to cry. We have to model and tell toddlers what behaviors we expect instead of the behaviors that many toddlers often display (hitting, shoving, and biting). For preschoolers and older children teaching respect becomes even more involved…we have to use positive reinforcement whenever possible along with teaching and role-modeling. Saying to a child “l love the way you say please and thank you”, “You did a great job of helping your little brother with his homework”, “I think you were right when you told your friends that saying hurtful things to the new child in school was wrong” are all important ways that we as adults can pass on the important value of RESPECT!

Be that role-model, be that person that stops and tells a child that they did a good thing by acting appropriately, be that person that others look up to when they are uncertain of how to act or what to say!

WHAT'S HAPPENING?
CALENDARS & MORE!

EMAIL LULLABYE LEAGUE,
lullabyeleague@aberdeenymca.org.

EMAIL FLOWER PATCH,
flowerpatch@aberdeenymca.org.

MUNCHKINS CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL MUNCHKINS,
munchkins@aberdeenymca.org.

LOLLIPOP KIDS CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL LOLLIPOP KIDS,
lollipopkids@aberdeenymca.org.

KANSAS CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL KANSAS,
kansas@aberdeenymca.org.

OZ CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL OZ,
oz@aberdeenymca.org.

STORM CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL STORM,
storm@aberdeenymca.org.

TUMBLEWEEDS CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL TUMBLEWEEDS,
tumbleweeds@aberdeenymca.org.

WIZARDS CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL WIZARDS,
wizards@aberdeenymca.org.

PROFESSORS CALENDAR, CLICK HERE.
EMAIL PROFESSORS,
professors@aberdeenymca.org.

EMAIL UPROAR,
uproar@aberdeenymca.org.

THE UPROAR CALENDAR CAN BE FOUND, HERE.

















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