E Is for Ethics: How to Talk to Kids About Morals, Values, and What Matters Most

useful tool in teaching children ethics

What is the best source for children to learn ethics, values, and morals? They used to learn them in religious services, but kids who go are usually there only an hour or two a week, and many no longer attend at all. I can remember being taught them in school, but, then, that was forty to fifty years ago, and today's public schools apparently have to be "values neutral" in their approach to what they call "character training." Television? Well, that's certainly not the best place, but for many kids it's probably the only place. However, children's first, and best, teachers have always been their parents. Yet, many parents find that they need something to assist them, and that's where this book can come in handy.

Ethics is defined as "the study and philosophy of human conduct, with emphasis on the determination of right and wrong." It is not merely the province of academic philosophers in ivory towers, but is actually the stuff of every day living-the choices that we make and the basis upon which we make them. It used to be that the ethics, values, and morals of a culture were handed down from generation to generation, but in more recent years the mobility of our society and related factors (such as mass media) have greatly lessened the impact of previous generations' collective wisdom. Therefore, it is imperative that parents personally take it in hand to raise their children to be ethical, to understand the difference between right and wrong.

E is for Ethics is a book of 26 simple yet fun stories about Elliot and Lucy, two young children who are faced with various situations in which a positive ethic, such as respect, honesty, kindness, charity, or integrity, can be demonstrated. The goal is for the stories to be read to children by parents and then discussed as a family. There are questions at the end of each chapter for this purpose. Author Ian James Corlett, a children's television creator, writer, developer, and voice actor who is also the father of two children, was motivated to address the subject when his own family grappled with these issues. While his kids were small, he and his wife started a weekly discussion using these tales, and then he decided to write them down to help other parents. R. A. Holt's humorous illustrations are a welcome addition to the entertaining nature of the book. Many parents will find it a useful tool for helping them to instill ethics in their children.

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