Kids grow up so fast, their teenage years will be here before you know it! Multiple studies like this one have shown that parents who foster strong, nurturing relationships with their kids before they reach the teenage years create a sort of protective barrier for their kids — during adolescence and beyond. The best way to start working on this is through values-based children’s books like the Tuttle Twins series!
Jillian discovered the magic of the Tuttle Twins books by using them to create special moments in the form of discussions with her kids. She appreciated these books that align with family values because each discussion builds upon itself. Jillian is part of a wider movement involving parents who want to equip their kids to navigate complex challenges in society by fostering skills like self-awareness. This movement involves using regular rituals to discuss family values — and books like the Tuttle Twins series offer a great jumping-off point for these discussions!
Searching for Books that Align with Family Values
A key challenge when trying to find values-based children’s books is that so many of them espouse beliefs that don’t line up with those of some parents. As a result, you’ll probably want to read every book before you expose your child to it, searching for problematic beliefs. Visit your local library to look up books that might appeal to your kids and then give them a read to screen out any books that don’t align with your family values.
Once you’ve identified the best values-based children’s books of the bunch, you may want to consider adding them to your home library so that you can read them as often as you want. The Tuttle Twins books cover a wide range of family values, like the golden rule, individual rights and freedom, empathy, respect, honesty and integrity, love and support, responsibility, education, positive communication, and many others.
How to Create Special Moments with Your Kids
With the right values-based children’s books in hand, you can begin to build special moments with your kids that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Having regular reading time together before bed is a great place to start. The Tuttle Twins series is perfect for reading before bed because the stories are exciting and engaging, wrapping each lesson in a magical or mysterious adventure that will keep them captivated until the last page. To launch discussions your kids will always remember, use open-ended questions about the book, such as:
· How do the characters repeat or break the patterns set by their parents?
· How do the characters make you reflect on our family?
· Which character’s actions or choices most surprised you and why?
· How do the kids in the story view the adults and how does this affect their relationship?
· What are some alternate solutions the characters could have tried and how would they have played into the values they displayed?
· Whose perspective feels most unheard or misunderstood?
These questions can be used either while you’re reading, right after you’ve finished the book, or at special moments like the dinner table. Making dinner a memorable moment also involves the entire family, enabling everyone to participate in the discussions. Do you want to bridge the gap between what kids learn at school and what skills they need in the real world to succeed? If so, join the movement of parents who are taking their kids’ education into their own hands!
