Posted on

Life Skills: Teaching Respect – What If We Treated The Earth The Way We Treat Our Friends?

What would the world look like if nobody showed respect for each other in the community?  Respect is “being treated in a way that demonstrates empathy for how we might feel in the same situation”.  I recently heard a quote that paraphrased said, it was easier to condemn another than it is to understand them.  Empathy and respect are so interrelated in our day to day life and also in the way we treat the environment.  Are we trying to understand our place here on this planet in relation to fellow humans and our home the Earth?

In our community we demonstrate empathy with a smile to those around us. Don’t all of us appreciate a kind word and a smile from another?  We clean up our trash or mess so that others can enjoy the area at a park.  Do we not appreciate an area we are about to use being clean and neat?   We speak kindly to those that are serving our needs at a restaurant, doctors office, grocery store.  Would we not appreciate the patience of others while we are serving their needs?  What would it look like if no one smiled at each other, if they left a mess for others to deal with, if they were noisy at the library or while we were working, if they bumped into us as we walked down the street and then gruffly dismissed us?   Our world would certainly not be a pleasant place to be.

Now the question is, What will our earth look like if we do not reduce what we are taking from it, reduce the amount of “messes” we leave for it?  What will our environment be like if we do not show respect for our home Earth?  Will there be beautiful and usable beaches and forests, mountains and animals for our children in the future? Continue reading “Life Skills: Teaching Respect – What If We Treated The Earth The Way We Treat Our Friends?”

Posted on

Life Skills: 5 Lessons in Teaching Children Respect of Their Body and Mind

We must use the word RESPECT when we are teaching our children anything that is important for them to learn to do on a regular basis.  Respect for their body and mind can start at a very early age as we begin to teach them their own life.  We show respect for our bodies first and foremost by what we put into it.

Lesson #1: We show respect for our body by knowing about the nourishment we put in our bodies.  What kind of food are we delivering to our body?  Should it not be fruits and vegetables, water, maybe some milk or juice, some forms of protein.  We can help them to understand how to use the local farmers and the benefit of doing so.

Lesson #2: Getting a good nights sleep also shows respect for our bodies.  Children who are 5 and 6 years old need up to 12 hours a sleep per day.  Children 7 – 12 years old need 11 hours per day and 12 – 18 year olds need 9 hours per day.  Getting the correct amount of sleep shows respect for our bodies. Continue reading “Life Skills: 5 Lessons in Teaching Children Respect of Their Body and Mind”

Posted on

Life Skills: Teaching Children Respect – By Role Modeling Our Expectations, Not Creating More Rules

Showing respect for others is more than just knowing the “nice” words to say at the right time.  It is also about recognizing the right thing to do at the right time.  One of the teachings we have in our classes is “You do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.”  Now while we teach that so that the students learn that doing the right thing is not just about ‘not getting in trouble’, it is also about showing respect to others.

Following the rules of the society you are in, is about respect.  Unfortunately our litigious society has so many rules and laws in place – when in reality we can establish some good guidelines in our schools (or classroom), homes and communities that would really be better for teaching respect.  What we are really looking to teach is that everyone has the right to be safe and have fairness applied to them.

How do we teach that to children? Continue reading “Life Skills: Teaching Children Respect – By Role Modeling Our Expectations, Not Creating More Rules”

Posted on

Life Skills: Respect – How We Speak and Act To Others When They Are There and Not There

As parents we have all worked with our children on having good manners.  By good manners we begin with teaching them the “magic” words; please, thank you, sorry, your welcome, excuse me.  In the end though is it about the words or is something else?  What do good manners have to do with respect?

Teaching our children good manners should also include helping them to understand the concept of respect.  When we say “thank you’, we are recognizing someone has done something special or unexpected for us and we appreciate the thoughtfulness of the other person.  When we say “sorry”, well actually I teach our kids not to just say sorry, but rather to say, “I am sorry”.  Teaching them to take personal responsibility and to express it in more than one word is the beginning step in understanding that it may be necessary to say a little more.  They may need to express to the other person what they are sorry for doing and finding a way to “fix it”.

Showing respect by HOW we say our words is important also.  Using a kind voice, with sincerity is an effective way of demonstrating respect.  We can model this for our children in our own interactions with others and in our conversation with those close to us.  Very quickly our youngsters learn if we have respect for others or if we are just faking it.  As one person said, “You can tell a lot about the character of an individual by the way they treat those of least importance to them.”  Children soon learn if you as a parent respect everyone or only those that can do something for you at that moment.  They really pick up on hypocrisy very quickly.

So showing respect is not only WHAT we say, HOW we say it – but also what we say when the other person is not there.  Our children are there and listening to the parents true feelings.

Posted on

April 5th is ‘Golden Rule Day’

While I was not aware of this day of awareness it is a good idea to have a day that is a reminder that showing compassion is really about treating others the way we want to be treated.

Posted on

Life Skills: Respect – The Definition

Each month we define and discuss a word of character development and life skill with all of our students.

This month the word is Respect and will be defined this way.

Young students: Respect means: I treat people the way I want them to treat me!

Older students: Respect means: Showing consideration, courtesy, and care for someone or something.

Here are the worksheets for our students:

Respect Tiger Tot worksheet

Respect 5-6 worksheet

Respect 7 – 12 worksheet

Respect Teen Adult worksheet

If you would like to see how we will deal with this subject with our students please follow our discussions here during the month of April or come in and TRY A CLASS.