Driving in the van the other day, my 8-year-old daughter said something to her brother with a very negative, mean-spirited attitude. When I corrected her, she replied, “Mom, this is America. I can say whatever I want.” Oh my!

My first thought was, hey she's learned something about freedom of speech! But my response to her was, “In this family, we speak kindly or we say nothing.”

Yes, this is America, but in the home, freedom of speech must yield to common courtesy. And hopefully our children will take that principle out into society with them.