While we often speak of the virtues we wish to see in our children, it is perhaps less common that we reflect on the particular virtues that we need to foster in ourselves. In this episode Mr. Tom Royals, 40+ year teaching veteran and Assistant Headmaster of The Heights, discusses the importance of parental prudence and its progeny: meekness, patience, and humility.

In this week’s episode, we sit down with long-time Heights father and Assistant Headmaster, Mr. Tom Royals, to speak about the virtues of parenting.  From his wealth experience, Mr. Royals shares with us practical advice on the habits to make the home bright and cheerful schools of virtue.  Beyond mere theorizing about virtue, Tom’s anecdotal approach in this episode gives us concrete insights into how each moment in the home, whether a setback or a success, can be an occasion for growing in virtue.

Parenting may at times be a messy affair, but as we hear from Mr. Royals it is also a joyful one.  In his own words, it is a dance.  If we want to help our children mature into men and women of character, then we ourselves need to learn to be childlike, which means always beginning again no matter how old we may—always finding new ways to grow in those virtues which make us not only into mature adults, but also keep us young at heart. 

Show Highlights

• The virtues that parents of older need to live 
• Often talk about virtues needed in keds, but can forget about virtues that we need to foster in ourselves 
• The family is the first school: parents cannot abdicate their call to be educators 
• It is a journey and a messy affair; no thornless roses here. 
• How we can learn to turn all circumstances into occasions for loving God 
• Parents cannot hide: kids seeing everything
• The adventure of the evening and the importance of leaving one’s anxieties at the door 
• Handling the little things of the day 
• Kids model our manner and our conduct 
• Need to keep resetting the button with children 
• The importance of being present and accompanying our children 
• The art of fatherhood in three movements: be there, show love and interest to your wife and each child, you’re gonna make mistakes: laugh at them.
• Prudence requires you to know your children in their particularity 
• Parenting is often preparing for the future; we are parenting future forty year olds
• Prayer and self-knowledge are indispensable
• How do you get children out of themselves?
• The romance of daily life in the home
• Need to be attentive to the time and place of corrections 
• Propose, don’t impose.

Also on The Forum

• Parents as Primary Educators  
• Decisive Parenting  
• Parenting: Patience or Optimism?
• Respectful Dominion: Colin Gleason on Discipline
• Family Culture with Mr. Alvaro de Vicente