The Key to Raising Kind Kids | Marriage & Family

[Also: Overcoming Abuse in Your Past] Also: Overcoming Abuse in Your Past | [View online]( [ChristianityToday.org]( [Beautiful Word Newsletter]( Thursday, April 06, 2017 The Key to Raising Kind Kids When 10,000 parents were surveyed about their top priorities in raising their tweens and teens, only about one in five "chose caring as a top priority," CT's science editor Rebecca Randall observes in "[The Key to Raising Kind Kids]( You read that right: one in five. In her insightful article, Randall interacts with several key studies including [this one]( from Harvard psychologist Richard Weissbourd, noting that more parents said they prioritized their child's achievement or personal happiness as top parenting goals. It's easy to point a finger at these parents with seemingly jumbled priorities—yet Weissbourd's observations challenge me to take a look in the mirror. Randall summarizes one of Weissbourd's key findings this way: "There's a gap between what adults say and what message they actually convey with their behavior. Adults' actual, lived values are being reflected back to them in the behavior of their kids." Before I lecture my kids once again about the Golden Rule, trying to will them toward a greater sense of empathy, I must ask myself: How do they see me caring for those who are hurting? Beyond the words they hear me say, how do I model empathy, compassion, and caring as top priorities in my own life? Am I somehow communicating to my kids that caring is important—it's just not that important? As a mom of both a teenager and a preteen, [this]( is one of those articles that will really stick with me. Like you, I want to be one of those one-in-five parents who prioritize raising caring kids. How? By caring. Grace, mailto:tcw@christianitytoday.com [Kelli Trujillo](mailto:tcw@christianitytoday.com) [Kelli B. Trujillo](mailto:tcw@christianitytoday.com) Editor, CT Women Sponsored by NavPress [3 Keys to Freedom]( How can a marriage flourish under dire circumstances? Be inspired by a church founder, turned prisoner, turned major league chaplain. Featured Article [The Key to Raising Kind Kids]( Harvard psychologist Richard Weissbourd says it's closer than you think. Rebecca Randall Additional Articles [The Aftermath of Abuse]( Recovering from sexual assault is possible. Joy Beth Smith ['Big Little Lies' Tells the Truth]( How the new HBO murder-mystery series gets motherhood right. Laura Kenna More from CT Women [10 Things Sexual Assault Victims Want You to Know]( [10 Things Sexual Assault Victims Want You to Know]( When I posed a question about abuse on Facebook, I was inundated with responses. Karen Swallow Prior [What Feminism Owes to the Protestant Reformation]( [What Feminism Owes to the Protestant Reformation]( Listening to marginalized voices isn't a liberal or a conservative idea—it's a fundamentally Christian one. Rachel Marie Stone Related CT Newsletters [CT Entertainment]( Reviews and perspectives on movies, TV, and music. [Sign Up Now]( [CT Weekly]( Weekly headlines, commentary, and site news. [Sign Up Now]( Follow Us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [RSS]( [Subscribe to this newsletter]( In the Current Issue [April]( [The Most Astonishing Easter Miracle]( [The Strange Encouragement of the Church's Appalling History]( [How a Hotshot New Yorker Found Jesus in Paraguay]( [View Full Issue]( [Subscribe Now]( More from Christianity Today [Augustine Today: Why He's Still Relevant]( Dr. Lee is Senior Fellow at the Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies. [Franklin Graham's Global Fallout, from Canada to Japan]( Vancouver pastor: How the church can model civil discourse amid controversy. [Who Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy?]( The 'thief' may not be who you think it is. Most Popular Articles [When You've Been Wronged]( Is forgiveness more important than justice? [Flickering Hope]( [The Three Myths of Cohabitation]( Sociologist Bradford Wilcox reports the surprising results of his new international study on cohabitation and its impact on kids. [Marriage & Family Newsletter]( Delivered via email to subscribers weekly. [Subscribe]( | [Email Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Advertise]( | [Subscribe to CT]( You are currently subscribed as: {EMAIL} Copyright ©2017 [ChristianityToday.org]( Christianity Today, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.