I got this little booklet from my brother-in-law, I believe. I've had it for quite some time.
This book has some "not so common" sense in it when it comes to raising children. To raise a child who grows into an adult with integrity is not something that just happens. It takes time and patience, and an example.
I remember standing in line at Winn Dixie one day. There was a woman scanning items at a self checkout. She couldn't get the french bread to ring up, so she set it aside. She grabbed the receipt and went to the front register to pay. She handed the woman at the register the receipt, while batting her daughter's hand with the french bread down. She payed what the receipt showed she owed and then left the store without paying for the french bread. I turned to the teenaged girl from church who was with me, and said, "Did you see that? She just taught her daughter to steal!"
Too many parents today are raising criminals. Not by telling them how to be deceitful crooks, but by showing them how. Like begets like, and your children will turn out like you.
You can raise children with a conscience about right and wrong without crushing their spirits. You can help them to do right, even when it's easier to do wrong.
Building Character Not Characters is copyrighted by Everett Barnard. It is not an easy book to find, but if you come across it you will not regret picking it up!
