Via: defendernetwork.com
Trust is very important to teenagers, and trustworthiness is necessary for meaningful, long-lasting relationships. There are two components of trust. The first is to trust, or to have confidence that others will do the right thing. The second is to be trustworthy, or to demonstrate through our words and actions that others can trust us.
It is our job as parents to teach our children the value of trust and the advantages that stem from trusting and being trusted. Being trustworthy fosters strong and lasting relationships. Being untrustworthy destroys relationships. Parents must show teens it feels good to be trusted. They also must show teens it feels bad to not be trusted.
Parents should teach teens that four specific qualities – integrity, honesty, reliability and loyalty – create trust.
Integrity: Integrity is moral wholeness, which is demonstrated by consistency of thoughts, words and deeds (“walking the walk”). Parents need to prepare teens for situations in which they will be pressured to abandon their beliefs in order to please themselves or their peers. Having integrity means maintaining our highest values even when faced with criticism or embarrassment. It is the willingness to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.
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