My Favorite Resources for Building Character in Kids

Want to raise kids with strong character and values? What parent doesn’t?? Here’s a list of some of my favorite resources for building character in your kids.

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I have many goals as a parent, but near the top of my list is building character in my kids. And I bet you want that, too! Knowing how to do it, however, can be challenging. Where do we start? What do we do?

Developing character doesn’t just happen automatically or by accident. We have to be intentional about it with goals, plans, and diligent effort. It’s a big job, but we do it trusting that the results will be well-worth the work.

If you also want to build strong character in your kids, take a peek at the following resources.

Resources for Building Character & Values in Your Kids

Want to raise kids with strong character and values? What parent doesn’t?? Here’s a list of some of my favorite resources for building character in your kids. I’m sure there are many others out there, but these are the ones I’ve personally read and can eagerly recommend.

Books To Help You Build Character in Your Kids

Character Matters! Raising Kids With Values That Last – John & Susan Yates

What I love most about this one is that while it does offer plenty of ways to instill each character trait in our KIDS, it does it from a foundation of first teaching us how to grow it in OURSELVES. This book is so so needed, and is a must-read for ALL families!

Counter Cultural Parenting: Building Character in a World of Compromise – Lee Neinhuis

If you’ve ever felt completely overwhelmed by the daunting task of raising kids with Godly character, you MUST get this book into your hands and heart. Read more about the book here.

Modern Parents, Vintage Values: Instilling Character in Today’s Kids – Sissy Goff and Melissa Trevathan

This book, written by two certified, experienced family counselors, equips parents in their fight against the anxiety, danger, disrespect, entitlement, etc. in today’s culture, and helps them instill the ageless values that will serve them well the rest of their lives. Read my full review here

Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World – Kristen Welch

This one is more personal account than how-to guide, but it’s full of great tips for bringing up faith-filled kids who will love God, serve others, and grow into hardworking, fulfilled, and successful adults.

Other books I haven’t read but have heard great things about:

Strong & Kind: Raising Kids of Character, by Korie Robertson
Our 24 Family Ways, by Clay Clarkson

Books That Will Teach Kids Character

Of course, kids can also learn good character through the books they read (or have read to them). For stories that illustrate positive character traits, one resource I recommend is the Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories series. They’re a little hard to find (without paying an arm and a leg), but I’m slowly building our collection from Thriftbooks.

Another one is The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories, by William Bennett. I just recently got this one, so we haven’t gotten very far into it. But it’s a New York Times bestselling classic, and it looks great!

There are many other books out there that can teach good character to kids. Here’s a helpful list of children’s books that teach positive character traits.

And I just got the book Books That Build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral Values Through Stories, by William Kilpatrick, Gregory Wolfe, and Suzanne Wolfe. It’s a comprehensive guide to over 300 books that celebrate virtues and values. I can’t wait to dive into it and start crossing some off their list!

(Note: The book was published in 1994, so there aren’t any books from the last 30 years on it. For a more contemporary list of quality books — albeit not on character, specifically — I recommend The Read-Aloud Family.)