Teaching Modesty

What is the best way to teach modesty? Unfortunately, modesty is a lost character trait, and if it’s taught at all, it’s generally restricted to females. This is a huge mistake because boys need to learn modesty as much as girls do.

All too often, we ignore this question until the child hits puberty and then we scramble to cram in years of training into a few short months! Start by discussing your family values, not as lectures (because who wants to be lectured!) but as conversations. TV shows, movies, the news, classmates, friends, neighbors all provide fodder for jumping off points to discuss why your family agrees or disagrees with the situation.

Be careful not to espouse racial, ethnic or stereotypical biases in your conversation. You want your son to respect all, even those with whom he doesn’t agree or who don’t share your beliefs.

In this week’s video blog, I explore concrete ways to discuss and instill modesty in our kids—and why it’s important to start these lessons when they’re young.