What this second-grade student did can put many of us so-called mature, adults to shame. All of eight and he had the sensitivity and sensibility to give away the money he had saved for a precious Lego set to his schoolmate for his cancer treatment.
According to this report, Jeffrey Holz had been saving up for the Lego set for a long time and had managed to collect $100. But then he found out that one of his seniors at school was diagnosed with cancer. The was enough for him to sit down and prioritise about who needed that money more. It didn’t take long for Jeffrey to give all of his money to the senior, Richard Gallop.
Often we are so busy in our daily rigmaroles of life that we tend to overlook situations and people who deserve our attention and humanity. While most of us grow up with certain values, when it comes to practising it in real life or even imparting these values to our children, we tend to follow a ‘self-first’ mode.
Most parents recognise the need for their children to have the right set of values. But then, how do you teach them? Here are some pointers to instill good values:
- Set the right examples: Model good values for your children to watch and learn. They learn from seeing how you treat them, overhearing your interactions with others and observing what you do in different situations throughout the day. If you want your children to exhibit values like honesty, self-respect and compassion, then you need to show these qualities yourself. It’s pointless if you can’t practice what you preach.
- Acknowledge your mistakes: Before you tell your child to apologise for their mistake, make you do it too. If you have made a mistake, irrespective of its magnitude, accept it and apologise. By doing so, you’re also modelling an important way to show respect to others, and how to accept responsibility for your mistakes.
- Use everyday instances to bring up certain values: Almost every day something happens that can provide you with an opportunity to teach your children about values. For instance, you may see that your daughter is making fun of your son’s drawing. Ask her whether she would like someone else to make fun of her shortcomings? Explain terms like inclusion, kindness, and respect with similar examples.
- Acknowledge their good behaviour: If you see your children carry out acts of kindness, respect, or justice, irrespective of how small the act, appreciate their efforts. Sincere praise reinforces good behaviour.
Finally, as parents what we need to understand is communicating the right behaviour and values with kids is essential. Talk about your own daily experiences, something that made you feel good, someone who was kind to you, someone who needed your help where you acted accordingly. These tiny tales will inculcate the right values in your young ones.
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