Families become stronger as parents choose, promote and model the attitudes and behaviors they would like to see in themselves and in their children. Since 1970, our experiences with children and young adults have taught us that, in most instances, misbehaviors relate to a lack of respect, responsibility and good citizenship. Our experiences have also taught us that to understand the meaning of these qualities, children need to first be awakened to more basic values. This book identifies 14 basic values as inner strengths called ValueSkills . Children must first be made aware of these ValueSkills before they can start transforming the idea of values into practical skills and behaviors.
Values are internal beliefs.
Skills are practical behaviors that can be taught, practiced and improved. What we value relative to material possessions varies widely. ValueSkills , on the other hand, are universally held beliefs that most people, regardless of income, race, religion or national origin agree upon. During the course of our work with young adults, teachers, parents and community leaders, these 14 ValueSkills have been identified by using a time-proven test. Through the years, this time-proven test has continued to yield similar answers.