When Should We Begin To Talk To Our Children About Important Issues In Life, Like Values?

When they ask or when you as the parent feel it's necessary. But some things a child should not be responsible to hear or deal with as a child and that is why it is better to let them be of age(15-16) where they can handle it or understand why certain things happen in this world.it depends on the problem /subject being talked about. In other words use your best judgement as the parent and protector.

You should let them know about life's issues at around age 13 although some may say that is too young the older they get the harder it will be to get through to teens so when you explain it all when they are barely entering "the world" they will understand whats going on a lot better. Unlike me my mom didn't tell me til my 15 b day and i already had my perspective and wouldn't listen to what she had to say now lets just say i wish i would have listened to her.

When it comes to values, the sooner the better, but that doesn't necessarily involve talking to them about it.  Children also learn by example.  It isn't always necessary to sit a child down to discuss certain subjects with them.  Things that occur in everyday life can be examples, and parents should point them out as such whenever they can.  There seems to be a shortage of ethics in today's world so it's never to early for children to start learning.

As long as they are mentally capable of understanding what it is. The earlier the better as it opens up the communication between parent and child if you want to talk to them based on studies or when someone else says then you may miss your window of opportunity and the child could seek assistance on an embarrassing subject elsewhere. No matter how much you tell them they can go to you more often then not they will seek it from peers or others without fear of being judged. You must seek them to provide the knowledge to protect them as that is your true duty as a parent.

Children learn a lot by example.  They very effectively Hear us by watching us.. And I think it is very important from day 1 to keep them informed of things like.. WHY we are doing what we're doing.. Or Why we don't do something.  Age appropriate of course but that's just common sense.  My son grew up very wise of his age..and I think it was from understanding what we were doing rather than just being told what to do..

When they reach adolescence, about 12 or 13. They are starting to want to be treated as adults yet they are to young to be one yet. By giving them responsibility as they can handle it, you are teaching them to be responsible. Core values are usually learned by age 5. That is why it is so important if you can to stay home with your kids or have a relative that you trust to instill these core values.  

It is amazing how many parents think that their children are not ready to discuss important issues until the children reach puperty, when it is the first 7 years of a childs life which determines the basic core values and personality of him/her. As is mentioned above, there are always opportunities to point out things and comment on them in child appropriate language. Children are eager to sit down and have conversations about issues that they see around them and ones even that affect them. The 'what' if scenarios, can be far less intimidating than the evening news. My Dad used the news reports from the front of the civil Rights war raging around us to teach us core values about human dignity and the rightness/wrongness of treating one group of people in such a way. I used history and stories of the holocaust to instill the same indignities in my son. Asking children what they think about the right and wrong way things are done is a good way to gauge where they are, values wise. Let them figure things out. They are way more observant and aware than we realize anyway.