Encouraging Your Kids to Be Diligent
Most of us recognize and value hard work, perseverance in the face of obstacles, and a commitment to excellence. I believe these characteristics can be summed up in the word diligence. Teaching diligence to kids requires diligence from us, but it’s worth it!
Like every other character trait we wish to instill in our children, diligence is best learned through modeling it yourself. The “more is caught than taught” modern proverb is at least partially true. However, there is a lot we can intentionally teach in regard to good character.
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Character Trait of the Month List
Each month, as part of our homeschool learning, I choose a specific character trait to focus attention on. There are many character traits worth pursuing, but to stay within the time constraints of a school year, I narrowed my list down to ten.
3 Simple Ways to Encourage Diligence
Here are three ways you can begin encouraging your child practice diligence today.
START WITH HEALTHY HABITS
First, help your child develop healthy daily habits. Consistency in one area almost always results in momentum in other areas. A child who has a regular routine of brushing their hair and teeth, making their bed and drinking a glass of water in the morning is already demonstrating a steady effort toward diligence in caring for their needs. It’s easier to add a regular tidying up time because they are used to the rhythm of routine.
ADD RESPONSIBILITY
Second, add age-appropriate responsibilities. Kids can begin “helping” at very young ages, but as they progress through elementary and middle school, they should have responsibilities of their own. Offering a reward or allowance can be great motivation to help them follow through on those responsibilities.
My kids often get excited about setting up a chore system, but inevitably give themselves way too much responsibility and their enthusiasm wanes after a week or two. I have to help them set a realistic expectation for responsibilities and choose one or two household tasks for each of them to take ownership over.
DETAILS MATTER
Third, diligence involves details. There is an underlying sense that a task done with diligence means toys aren’t shoved under the bed (unless they belong there)! This is a hard thing for a lot of kids to grasp, and as parents, we need to be careful not to discourage them with standards that are unrealistically high. While I don’t expect my kids to complete a task to the same level of expertise that I would, I do want to give them the satisfaction of a job well done.
As they go through life, they will discover that details really do matter. They will need to cite references in a particular format on college papers or they’ll find that paying attention to small details is valued by their employer.
Begin now to help them see that a half-hearted effort won’t serve them well and encourage them to pursue excellence in all they do.
Teaching Diligence to Kids with Quotes and Questions
Here are a few quotes about diligence, along with questions you can use to engage your kids in conversation or use as a writing assignment or journal prompt in your homeschool.
Everything yields to diligence.
Antiphanes
Question: Can you accomplish anything with enough effort applied over enough time? Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.
Louis Pasteur
Question: Can you think of a time when you succeeded in reaching a goal through tenacity and diligent work? Have you seen an example in someone else’s life?
I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.
Charles Dickens
Question: Do you believe it is important to concentrate on one thing at a time? Are there habits you think are more important than punctuality, order, and diligence?
Diligence overcomes difficulties; sloth makes them.
Benjamin Franklin
Question: What difficulties might sloth (lazinesss) make for you? Think both short-term and long-term into your future.
More Diligence Quotes
Here are a few additional quotes about diligence you may wish to consider as alternatives, or use in addition to the four above. These quotes don’t necessarily use the word diligence, but the ideas behind these quotations are related to the same concept.
Work is doing it. Discipline is doing it every day. Diligence is doing it well every day.
Dave Ramsey
Most of us serve our ideals by fits and starts. The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is dedication.
Cecil B. DeMille
Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence.
John C. Maxwell
Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.
George Halas
Diligence News Articles and Reports
Here are a few sources for news articles containing stories of diligence. One way to teach diligence to kids is to show them specific examples of it in action.
Science News for Students
The website sciencenewsforstudents.org is a great resource for science-related news articles written specifically for kids.
What Is IQ and How Much Does It Matter: Discussion about how much grit and perseverance contribute to overall success.
DOGO News
Another source for kid-friendly news articles is dogonews.com
George Dennehy, the Armless Musician that is Inspiring the World: Learning to play an instrument requires significant diligence to practice regularly and improve incrementally. How much more diligence is required when attempting to learn an instrument using only your feet?
Books that Explore Diligence
These books explore the theme of self-awareness through engaging stories. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss is on so many lists of great books for kids. The story illustrates very nicely the value of hard work and diligence. Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull tells the true story of a child who persevered through tremendous difficulty. Any story about Helen Keller is a great example of diligence and the pursuit of excellence despite adversity. Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller is a novelization of the story for upper elementary and older kids. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey adapts the famous 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in an engaging and motivating manner for teens.
Short Video Content Related to Diligence
These links are videos I added to my kids’ Google classrooms in June to get them thinking about diligence.
Diligence (YouTube – Character Trades): Super short video that simply explains what diligence is and its opposite.
Diligence (YouTube – Mrs Goodwill FMS): Brief video laying out three steps for implementing diligence interspersed with photos of teens engaging in athletic endeavors, studying, etc.
Movies with a Diligence Theme
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken is the true story of Sonora Webster Carver, who became a famous rider of diving horses.
Gifted Hands is the biography of surgeon Ben Carson’s journey from childhood adversity to world-famous neurosurgeon.
The Mighty Macs tells the story of Cathy Rush, who takes the job of basketball coach at a tiny all-girls Catholic college and leads them to a national championship.
Teaching Diligence to Kids with Activities
Try some of these ways to develop diligence in your child.
TEAM OR INDIVIDUAL COMMITMENTS
Participating in team sports with required practices is a great way to develop diligence. Additionally, music lessons, theater productions, or book clubs can provide opportunities to practice diligent habits. It doesn’t really matter what the commitment is, the key is to have some type of accountability that requires consistent action on a regular basis. The music teacher will expect your child to have put in practice time, the book club will assume your kids are making weekly progress toward finishing the book before the meeting.
ASSIGN CHORES
Give your child a few chores that they can accomplish on their own. The caveat here is, if you’re trying to teach diligence, don’t ask them to do something they’ve never been taught to do and just leave them to it. Make sure they know how to do the job. This means working with them a few times, first demonstrating, then helping, and finally supervising. Once you are assured that they understand the expectation of a job well done, they are ready to take on that task and exemplify diligence through completing it on a regular basis and to do it thoroughly and well.
SET GOALS
Goals don’t need to be relegated to New Year’s or new school years. Help your kids set a goal for this month, or this summer. Then talk about what they need to do regularly in order to achieve that goal. They can learn to use a habit tracker to check off the days they complete the task they’ve set for themselves. Or learn to make a to-do list of tasks that will move them toward the goal they’ve set.
Scriptures to Encourage Diligence
In the Old Testament, the Bible uses the idea of diligence in relation to obeying and studying God’s word. Proverbs contrasts diligence with laziness. And the New Testament uses the concept of diligence to describe the way we should pursue our relationship with God and service to others.
You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 6:17 (NLT)
Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
Romans 12:11 (NLT)
The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage…
Proverbs 21:5 (NASB)
Free Printable Diligence Quotes and Questions
By subscribing to my mailing list, you have access to my printables library, where you can download a free printable list of these four quotes and accompanying questions. Use them as discussion questions, a writing assignment, or journal prompts.
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Teaching Diligence to Kids
As with all character traits, your kids will learn from your behavior. Model diligence in your own healthy habits, give them a peek behind the curtain as you work steadily toward a personal goal. Then, provide examples of diligence in books, movies, and other people. Talk about the benefits of doing a job well, being dependable and consistent in effort. Share the personal satisfaction your kids can experience in the moment along with the future benefits of achievement when they continue to work with diligence.
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June Character Trait Focus: Diligence
