Accountability is hard.

Accountability is necessary. But it is hard. And it is even harder sometimes to hold your kids accountable. But, if we are going to be men of integrity, we must pass that on to our children.

When we build accountability into our lives, we allow ourselves to become the person that God has created us to be. That is a critical aspect of personal integrity. But if we stop short of teaching that to our children, we fail them.

Teaching our kids to be accountable for their actions is a crucial aspect of preparing them for life outside of our homes one day. If we don’t teach them to own their actions, and the consequences, we will have created another generation of victims who shirk responsibility and whine about the consequences.

We already have enough of that in our own generation.

Teaching our kids to be accountable is difficult, but extremely necessary. But how do we go about it? Here are three ways to build accountability in the lives of your children.

Set Clear Expectations

Be very clear and up front about all of the rules that you set in your home. Make sure that each of your children understands the rule and the consequences. Each person is accountable for their own actions and is responsible for following the rules, no matter what the others do.

In our home, our kids often try to shift the blame for their lack of obedience to someone else, when they are responsible. My son hates to brush his teeth before bed for some reason. When we see that he hasn’t done it, he often tries to blame his sisters or brothers, often laughably. But we have had to teach him that he alone is responsible for his actions or lack thereof.

Help Your Kids Know How To Follow The Rules

This is especially needed with younger children. Often, it isn’t enough to tell them what not to do. Kids need to know what they can do instead. Help them find creative expressions instead of resorting to breaking the rules. Help them out by giving reminders when necessary.

Be Consistent When It Comes To Consequences

Our kids know that when they talk back to their mother or me, there is an immediate consequence. For our younger kids, this means standing in the corner for a time. The hardest part about this is consistency. If we enforce these consequences sometimes, but not other times, our kids have no idea why or when the consequences are appropriate. Without clear consequences, there is no reason for our kids to be accountable. But knowing that there will be something unpleasant often causes our kids to think ahead, and hopefully give them the incentive to find another route of expression, one that is more appropriate.

Creating an atmosphere of accountability for your kids helps you be a man of integrity. Your kids know that you follow through on what you say, and they will learn to do the same.

Accountability is hard. But if we don’t create a culture of accountability in the lives of our kids now, they will have to learn it the hard way for themselves later in life.

As parents, our goal is to prevent that as much as possible.

Be deliberate, Dad!

How do you create an atmosphere of accountability for your children? You can leave your thoughts in the comments by clicking here.