A Resource to Help You and Your Kids to Pay it Forward

Know that T.V. commercial by Liberty Mutual that shows strangers helping each other. The commercial ends with:

When it’s people who do the right thing, they call it being responsible. When an insurance company does the right thing, they call it Liberty Mutual. Responsibility. What’s your policy?

Liberty Mutual Commercial from Mark on Vimeo.

No, I’m not trying to sell you insurance. But since I’m a big believer in taking responsibility for your actions and teaching kids responsibility, I am sharing information about Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project.

The Responsibility Project is an excellent resource for parents because it includes short films, discussion guides and a blog to help families teach and talk about personal responsibility. The fundamental premise behind the Responsibility Project is to pay it forward. In other words, when someone sees another person performing an act of kindness, that person is inspired to do the same for another stranger.

Here are a couple of the short films they offer:

The Lighthouse

In this animated short film, a community comes together to help an elderly lighthouse keeper when he accidentally shatters the beacon as a ship approaches land. This film is appropriate for kids as young as 4.

The New Boy

This short film shows how a tough move to a new country gets easier when boys who start out as enemies come together over a shared moment of laughter. This film is appropriate for elementary school kids.

So if you too believe it’s important to pay it forward and teach your kids to be responsible (who doesn’t right?) I think you’ll appreciate this resource.