The Virtues of Character

On 11 January 2025 The Australian published a brilliant article by Angela Shanahan: Kids need to learn virtues of character.   I promised I would write a blog about the article and “Promises made are promises kept.”

Angela has been the mother of 9 children so is speaking from a platform of experience.

The first question she asks is why so many “negative” emotions in a child or adult are being converted into mental illnesses.. An extreme example is depression, which has gone from “I’m depressed today”, to “I have depression”, and this phenomenon is affecting children, adolescents and young adults too in great numbers.

Angela believes a key reason for this is the number of children not being raised in a family unit.  She quotes the amazing statistic the  out-of-wedlock birthrate in Australia is now over 40 per cent.

Another reason is that medicalising problems switches the onus from parents to the “condition”. Hence half the kids in any classroom, especially the boys, are on Ritalin.

The most reliable predictor of good adult outcomes is developing self-control over emotions in childhood.  Emotional Intelligence is not going with the flow but the complete opposite.  The paradox now is that parents think they are doing the right thing by transferring their authority to the child.

Since 1957 there has been change in the messaging on kids TV shows.  It has moved from do the right thing, be a good friend, family togetherness and so on, to the win-at-all-costs message of Survivor and American Idol.  Meanwhile, social media came in and the most important thing now is how many likes and, ultimately, fame. Fame became a value of itself, and a cult.

The rise in self-orientation – otherwise known as narcissistic behaviour – is a major contributor to the mental health crisis in children.  Today’s young adults can no longer see the value of committing to deep and loving relationships through marriage or children.  Family is the bedrock of a healthy society and it requires sacrifice.

I worked in Venture Capital for 27 years.  One my first questions of entrepreneurs is to have them describe their selling experience.  The second was were they married and did they have children?  If both answers were positive, I was much happier about proceeding.