Children Can Show Respect

Respect is a two way street. Children need to know that respect should be given to themselves, possessions, and others. Teaching a child to be respectful can be a rewarding and enjoyable time in your life. Remember to start early and always use positive reinforcement.

First of all, when teaching respect, always use your manners. When you do something wrong to someone, apologize and remedy the situation. Let your child know what you expect from them and what is acceptable behavior. Be consistent. As a parent, you should follow the same expectations that you are trying to instill in your child. As children become older they may become set it their ways, and it may be difficult to correct bad behavior. When your child is learning, praise them when they do something right. When they do something wrong, be calm, pull them to the side and explain the situation and give suggestions on how to remedy the problem. You should always correct a child when the situation happens and not later. Correcting the child after the fact is confusing for them, as they may not remember what they did wrong. When disciplining needs to be done, make sure you follow through with your punishments.

As with everything in life, to get respect you need to give it. The learning experience will be filled with many bumps. How you handle those "bumps" are entirely up to you. As long as you are well informed and prepared, teaching respect should be easy.