Pirate toils to be trustworthy

Y our son loves to sneak into your closet to borrow your favorite flannel shirt for his mudball factory uniform. He can't comprehend why one day you hide your shirt, even though it's newly torn or freshly stained every time he returns it.

The film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas can help your kids understand how their past performances can make or break others' trust. Our family activity, “ Tower of Trust ,” brings the lesson to life.

The animated movie features Sinbad (Brad Pitt), a pirate who falls in love with his estranged friend's fiancée (Catherine Zeta-Jones), while he tries to recover a magical book swindled by an evil goddess (Michelle Pfeiffer).

When Sinbad is framed for a crime he didn't commit, his childhood pal Proteus (Joseph Fiennes) puts his life on the line for him, even though he and Sinbad are still at odds. Proteus must trust that despite his pirating ways, Sinbad will return to save him. In the end, Sinbad must decide if he wants to be a man who is tricky or trustworthy.

Family Activity: Tower of Trust

Your family doesn't have to be a band of thieves to lose each other's trust from time to time. Together, play our game, Tower of Trust , to learn how to build others' confidence in you.

Share!

Talk about what Sinbad did that made it tough for other characters to trust him. Ask your kids to reflect on things they do that might make others distrust them. Is your daughter unable to keep a secret? Does your son return his friend's bicycle with a flat tire without offering to fix it?

Point out how Sinbad's choices at the end of the film transformed him into a dependable person. Then take turns talking about the times your children's actions proved to others that they are trustworthy. Maybe your daughter returned the extra change to the cashier who accidentally gave her too much. Perhaps your son faithfully finishes his chores each week before heading to the pool. Together discuss how you build up someone's trust by being consistently reliable.

Play!

Materials needed:
Water balloons
Colored markers
Six plastic drinking cups

On one side of each cup, write one reason you can be trusted—from always showing up on time to telling the truth. On the other side of each cup, write “Can Trust.” Stack the cups upside down in a pyramid outside. As you do so, remind your kids that the more times you prove you are reliable, the more you build people's trust in you.

Fill one water balloon. Write on one side “Can't Trust.” On the other side write one action that would make you seem undependable, such as not following through on a promise. Standing a good distance from the cups, ask your children to throw a “Can't Trust” water balloon at the “Can Trust” pyramid.

If the balloon misses the pyramid, it's a visual example to explain that once trust is built up, it can withstand a mistake or two. Fill another “Can't Trust” water balloon and ask your children to try again to hit the pyramid. When the tower finally tumbles, it's the perfect time to point out that when trust is broken, it has to be rebuilt.

Your children will see that just like Sinbad, all it takes is one bad decision to throw their trustworthiness overboard.

copyright © 2004 Cinematters