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Do you remember Liberty Mutual’s commercials based on the concept of “pay-it-forward” - someone who sees another person participating in an act of kindness and is inspired to do the same for a stranger? Not surprisingly, Liberty Mutual received an overwhelming reaction from viewers. In response they created an entire website called The Responsibility Project. It’s a wonderful resource for parents to help them talk with their kids about personal responsibility in a meaningful way.

It’s also a social networking site. You can create a profile, save your favorite films and blog posts in one place, and share your own responsibility story.

My responsibility story

Teaching children responsibility is tough especially when it doesn’t come naturally to your child.

I’ll never forget the time that Nathan came back visiting from the neighborhood school playground with his grandmother. He couldn’t wait to show me the treasure that he found. Was it a cool rock or a pretty wild flower? No, it was a three-ring binder filled with dozen of pages manga-style cartoons that some grade schooler had patiently drawn. Nathan brought it home thinking that he could keep it.

“Nathan, that belongs to someone else, someone who spent a lot of time drawing those cartoons,” I explained. “It’s not something to keep. It doesn’t belong to you. If you don’t return it, they’ll be very sad that they lost it.”

I was disappointed in the boy. He only thinks of himself and not how other people feel. Maybe this is normal for an eight-year-old boy. But I don’t like it. It makes me feel that he lacks a moral compass.

Also, I was puzzled that my mother-in-law didn’t insist that he leave the binder on the playground. She mumbled some lame excuse about “telling him to do so” but I didn’t care. She knows better too and I expect better from someone who was a former minister who worked with youth programs. At least she should could have suggested that they return the next day when the school was open. 

Bottom line was that Nathan shouldn’t have taken the notebook, and my mother-in-law should have insisted that it wasn’t his to take. So I made them both walk back to the school and leave it at the school’s front door, hoping that a teacher would find it the next day, and return it to the rightful owner.

Nathan came home upset after returning his “prize,” and I’m sure my mother-in-law didn’t appreciate having to walk Nathan back and forth. I didn’t care. The binder and the drawings belonged to someone else. Returning it was the responsible thing to do.

What’s your responsibility story?

Go to The Responsibility Project to share your story. And while you’re there check out their films. One of my favorites was Mandy & Lester since it reminds me of my responsibility story.

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