I was so excited to see that Caroline Allen’s new Character Badges curriculum was a part of the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle! I’ve heard Caroline talking about it and I’ve been wanting to take a look at it.

The idea is to provide an easier way for fathers and mothers to be consistent in training their children’s character. The program includes printable badges, charts and flashcards as well as an instruction manual. You’ll need some crafty things for best results with the badges – a printer, a laminator (if you want them to last, scissors, glue, and pins to glue to the back of the badges.

The badges are sharp and cute and I think most in the recommended age range of 5-12 would get a kick out of earning them. They look a little like merit badges for the scouts, but will be printed. Older children in that range might feel a little silly wearing them, but may want to display them on their door or shelf instead.

There’s an obedience chart that lists virtues, a disobedience chart that lists character  issues, and a consequence chart where you can set consequences for the disobedience chart. I was a little concerned about that. As I get older and our eight children one-by-one become adults, I’m understanding more and more the need to use not only discipline, but grace and understanding in dealing with our children. I’m happy to report that Caroline does explain that in the manual and give parents room to adjust both sides of the system as they need to. I was happy to see she made lots of creative suggestions about how to reward both obedience and disobedience. Be sure to read the whole manual!

I think this could be a useful tool for parents to encourage virtue in their children – and we’re going to try it out with our younger children because I actually think they’ll really enjoy it! As Caroline points out at the end, parents need to use this wisely and recognize that the point of all this is to teach our children their need for a Savior because it’s God that changes hearts.

Thanks,

Melanie

We received a free copy of this product as a member of the author team of the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle. As always, our review is our honest opinion.