Developing your child's
By Emily Mackintosh
T
he North Star represents the highest guiding principle that propels us towards creating sustainable and thriving communities.
It serves as a moral compass, providing direction and inspiration for decision-making and actions that put the well-being of everyone at the forefront. A North Star could look like a considered statement of your family values. For example, ‘We prioritize speaking openly and honestly and always listen to what others have to say’. Or it could look like a guiding framework that your family foundation is built upon. Your family foundation is the interconnected support system that holds your family together. It encompasses shared values, beliefs, traditions and rituals. It may include a religious or spiritual aspect, or even a guiding philosophy such as ‘do no harm’ or ‘kindness first’. Your family may live by an environmentally conscious ethos or perhaps you are a family that has strong local community connections through school and sports. Identifying what foundation your family is built upon and the values that you already embody may be easy if you practise a particular faith or philosophy. However, if this is not the case you can still discover what these values are by recognising your unique family patterns, reflecting on your own childhood and feeling into what feels safe and familiar within your own experience of family. As parents, guardians and caregivers we all have a crucial role in shaping our children into compassionate and morally upright individuals, especially in today's uncertain world. By understanding your family
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values and learning how to put them into practice, you can help your child develop a guiding North Star to better navigate this rapidly changing world. The following questions are a great starting point to learn more about yours and your child’s present understanding of your family values:
What kind of family do you aspire to be? What do you enjoy about other families that you spend time with? What is something that you have noticed that you do in your family that may be similar or different to other families?
Can you describe any family traditions or rituals that are important to your family?
How does your family support and encourage one another during difficult times?
Are there any family activities or pastimes that your family loves doing together?
Just by including your children in this pivotal conversation, you are already creating a valuable asset pool of information and insights that are gathered through personal experiences, emotions, and relationships. Children need to have their thoughts, views and feelings included in the process of creating family values and the family foundation. As adults, it
