Top 5 Ways to Promote Good Character in Your Child

If you've never read the Bible, start with a children's Bible story book. Get some of these stories of Bible heroes into your kids' heads.
One of my favorite stories is about Joseph, son of Jacob. His brothers were jealous of him, and they tried to get rid of him. He was sold as a slave, and used that opportunity to be a trusted servant of his master. Then he was falsely accused by the master's wife and thrown in jail. In that circumstance, he kept believing God would deliver him. Eventually he became a leader in Egypt, second only to the Pharoah himself. In this position he had the opportunity to deal harshly with his brothers, but he loved them. Read a story like this, and then, depending on their ages, you can ask critical thinking questions,such as, "What would you do in that situation?" or "If you are falsely accused, how can you react?"
The Bible also has incredible examples of forgiveness...ask about what is a forgivable offense (the answer is "anything" because Jesus forgives us).
Thirdly, the Bible has great stories of bad characters who were justly punished.
Then, there are chapters of Proverbs, which contain verses of instruction.
The Bible is the perfect teaching tool!

Whether you like it or not, you are the main example your child follows. The scary thing is that your child sees you in your weak times (in anger, depression, frustration) as well as in your good times. But that's okay. Nobody's perfect.
The great thing about being a good example is that your child respects you. If you try to approach parenting with "Do as I say and not what I do", you will lose their respect.
The important thing is to raise the bar for yourself before you expect perfection from your children.
If you want your child to say please and thank-you, you have to say it to them. If you want your child to help you without hesitation, you have to stop what you're doing when they need help. Don't live with a double standard.

Children should feel important and confident, but a child should never think they are the center of the universe.
Children can learn responsibility through having a pet. They are caring for "someone" other than themselves. In return they can receive unconditional love, "someone" who will listen when nobody else will. Believe it or not, even a $2 Betta Fish can fill this purpose.

Make a chore chart or chore list. You can assign a reward, allowance, or sticker.
Chores give your child a feeling of belonging and being needed. They will learn that they need to not only pick up after themselves, but they also need to help others. They will take pride in helping others and do it more often.

Each child responds to a different form of discipline. You should get to know what works for your child. I would recommend starting with time-out or taking things away.
It is important for Character Education that discipline is enforced in love.
This means that we don't punish in anger, we don't yell and make it an emotional episode. Then it becomes about how the child can please you. You are not trying to raise a child who will please you, but a child who will earn respect and respect others.
Respect your child in the discipline. You can be insistent. You can increase the degree of punishment based on the child's reaction to the punishment. BUT you should not take it personally and start yelling or hitting.
There are many good books about disciplining in a calm and planned manner. I will list some here.
Think about it - if you were speeding, you wouldn't expect the policeman to threaten you and call you an idiot when he pulls you over. That would be ridiculous! Why do we think we can behave this way toward our kids? This all goes back to Item Number 2 - Be The Example.