Family Forgiveness Guidelines
We have created this part of our website for busy moms and dads who may not have time to get together regularly to discuss forgiveness. You have the opportunity to help your children become strong in their understanding and practice of forgiveness, which could prove to be a protection for them once the storms of adult life come to them..
Family Forgiveness Gathering
Creating a time and place for family discussions is important. We recommend that you gather the family together at least once a week to have a quiet discussion about forgiveness. Keep in mind that to forgive is not the same as excusing or forgetting or even reconciling. Keep in mind that forgiveness works hand-in-hand with justice.
Your children do not toss justice out the window when they forgive. In fact, they may seek a better justice when they are not fuming with anger. Click here for questions and guidelines for a family forgiveness gathering. Consider purchasing one of the Family Guides described below for more formal guidance in discussing forgiveness with your children.
You can also print out the Infographic chart at right (produced by GreatSchools.org) and use it to help your kids acquire an invaluable life skill .
A Family Guide to Forgiveness Education
(An IFI resource guide for families – Guide I)
We have created an easy-to-use parents’ guide to help you teach your primary-age (ages 6-9) child(ren) about forgiveness. Through story, discussion, and activities, your child(ren) will learn:
- What forgiveness is and is not
- The meanings of inherent worth, moral love, and goodness and the ways to practice them apart from forgiveness
- The importance of finding balance as we acknowledge the worth of both the self and others and offer moral love and goodness to both the self and others
- The ways to practice seeing others’ inherent worth and offering moral love and goodness as part of the forgiveness process
- How to forgive a person who was unfair
- The importance of seeking and receiving forgiveness
To see how the guide is structured, click here to read Unit 1.
To order A Family Guide to Forgiveness Education, click here.
Strengthening Families Manual
(An IFI resource guide for families – Guide II)
We have created a parent guide with stories that older children can read and then discuss with others in the family. There are eight lessons in this guide, with no other books to buy. This manual is appropriate for children in grades 5 (ages 10-11) through eight (ages 13-14). Our research study with students in middle school demonstrated that those students benefited in a number of important ways.
Click here to read the full study.
To order the Strengthening Families Manual, click here.
