Week 3 of January: Loyalty
and Dependability
In Connection with
Richard and Linda Eyre
Editor’s
Note: This month the Meridian Family Value
of the month is Loyalty and Dependability. Click here
to read the beginning of the month’s overview article).
Each week during the month we will post an update in Meridian,
illustrating a couple of the Eyres’
favorite methods for teaching this important value to each age group. Remember that
you can also go to www.valuesparenting.com
for still more ideas and teaching methods. Thanks for
your interest and participation. There are tens of thousands
of parents concentrating on this value this month. Strength
in numbers! Next week there will be one more update on this
value, and then on to the February value.
Methods
for Preschoolers
The Pick-the-Right-Answer Game
This game can help small children
who have started reading to understand and even use the words
loyal and dependable.
Prepare a “window pane” chart that
shows the two words and their opposites:
| Dependable |
Undependable |
| Loyal |
Disloyal |
Explain that you are going to tell
a little story about several different people and you want the
child to point to the word on the chart that describes how the
person is acting or behaving.
- Timmy’s dad asked him if he
would stack up some bricks in the garage. Timmy said he would,
but he forgot and didn’t do it. (undependable)
- Janet’s school class planned
to have a car wash in the school parking lot to raise money.
Those who could were asked to come and help, but no one had
to come. Janet came and brought some towels and a bucket.
(loyal — to her school)
- Crissy’s family job was to set
the table each night for dinner. She almost always remembered
to do it without her mother reminding her. (dependable)
- Tammy was with two girls on
the bus one day when one of the girls said some bad things
that weren’t true about Tammy’s best friend Jill. Tammy didn’t
say anything. (disloyal — to her friend)
- Jason’s little brother had a
Little League game one night. Jason had a lot of homework,
but he worked hard at it until game time and then went to
cheer for his brother. (loyal — to his brother)
- The elderly widow who lived
next door to Mary had a favorite plant that needed watering
every day. She asked Mary if she would water it for a week
while she went on vacation. Mary did it for four days, but
then she forgot. (undependable)
- Alice always thought about the
Pledge of Allegiance when her class said it. She felt proud
to be an American. (loyal — to her country)
Methods for Elementary School
Age
Stories
These can help children feel and
live situations of loyalty and dependability vicariously. Elementary-age
children are the easiest age to make up stories for. This month
tell them a bedtime story or two (out of your own mind) about
dependability or loyalty. Example topics: A spy story — someone
who was a disloyal traitor. A sports story — maybe a member
of a relay team who was tired after his individual event but
still ran the relay because he was loyal to his team. A harvest
story — a child who watered his garden consistently and dependably
and was rewarded with a good harvest.
Metaphor of Constructing a Building
This can help children understand
that “doing one’s part” is a key part of loyalty. Ask children
to imagine that there were 100 people who wanted to build a
brick wall and that the wall would need 10,000 bricks. How many
bricks would each person have to put up if they all helped?(100)
How many bricks would each person have to put up if only 10
helped? (1,000) Make the point that when people are loyal, everything
is more pleasant and more fair.
Methods for Adolescents
Lists
These help older children pinpoint
who and what they want to be loyal to and what things they want
to be dependable on. Work together with the children on forming
a loyalty list (family members, school, church, friends, etc.)
and a dependability list (family job, school, assignments, music
practice, etc.).
Discussion of True Friendship
Summarize the value of dependability
and loyalty. Ask adolescents what they think is the most important
and valuable quality in a friend. Challenge them to think of
any more important or more crucial factor than loyalty and dependability.
