Consistency
It’s easy to post a list of core values on the refrigerator. It’s much more difficult for parents to be consistent. Consistency lets children know what to expect and what is expected of them. Of course, children will push boundaries but inconsistency from parents confuses children.
Community
Everyone involved in your child’s development are critical to modeling and upholding core values. Parents need to work with these important role models to foster the importance of doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, and for the right reasons.
Commitment
Parents need to commit to model and reinforce to their children the core values and character strengths that mean the most to them. They also need to be creative and offer meaningful experiences that illuminate how important these character strengths are to the family’s core values.
Conversations
We know “We need to talk” freaks kids out, but too often parents avoid having conversations about character, especially as children get older. While it may not be easy to talk sometimes, we know from the research that parents who avoid talking to their children about serious matters quickly lose trust and connection.
Celebration
Parents need to find ways for their children to be active participants in their own character growth. Optimal character development occurs when children begin to make self-motivated commitments to consistently practice a core value (e.g. “I want to be the kind of person who is always honest and shows up on time.”) Parents need to celebrate these moments to shape and define individual character.
Dr. Michele Borba is an internationally renowned educational psychologist, award-winning author and Today show contributor who has spoken to over one million participants on five continents about child development issues. She blends 40 years of teaching and consulting experience with the latest science, giving realistic advice to parents, educators, and child advocates about strengthening children’s resilience, social-emotional intelligence and character, and reducing peer cruelty. Borba is the award-winning author of 25 books translated into 30 languages. Titles include: 
Steve Hartman has been a CBS correspondent since 1998 and is known for creating moving stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things in his weekly feature “On The Road.” Hartman‘s stories are often used in schools by thousands of teachers for lessons on empathy, honesty, fortitude, courage, etc. In addition, with the help of his children (Meryl and Emmett), Hartman has produced “Kindness 101” segments on these themes for CBS Mornings. Steve has proved the adage, “Everybody has a story” and has won numerous broadcast journalism awards, including an Alfred I. DuPont Columbia University Award, four National Emmy awards, and 14 RTNDA/Edward R. Murrow awards, including a record 11 citations for best writing.
Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. is a professor in the Psychology Department at Rutgers University, director of the 
Dr. Antonio Cooper, Jr. has served as a behavior specialist, elementary school teacher, dean of students, assistant principal, principal, coordinator of student services, director of curriculum and instruction, consultant, motivational speaker, adjunct professor, and author. Throughout his career, Cooper has heralded the mission of helping young people become the best version of themselves and encouraging them to go out and achieve whatever they set their minds to
Houston Kraft has spoken at over 600 schools or events internationally. In 2016, he co-founded CharacterStrong that currently serves 8500 schools across 50 states and 36 countries. In 2019, Kraft’s face was featured on Lays BBQ chip bags as someone who helps “spread smiles.” In 2020, his first book, Deep Kindness was published by Simon & Schuster.