As daunting a process parenting is, it’s important to remember that raising your child involves multiple parameters. This not only includes giving the right education, food, clothing and shelter but also working on their holistic development.
Most parents strive and work hard to give the best to their children when it comes to materialistic things. And by all means, each parent must do what they have to, in order to offer a quality life to themselves and their child.
However, let’s not forget the big picture here.
Not every parent gets the chance to step and introspect if they are raising their children right. Does my child speak politely with others? Do they treat animals nicely? Do they think about things beyond themselves? Here are many questions and more you need to ask yourself from time to time.
In raising compassionate children, parents are preparing good adults for society. As your child grows up, they will be a contributing adult towards the world and it is better. That’s exactly why your child needs to learn about compassion and empathy as much as about success and hard work.
So, what do you do when it comes to raising a compassionate child? Make sure to ask them these two questions at dinner every day.
1. What Acts Of Service Did You Do Today?
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Serving others is an important aspect of nearly every religion out there. While some gods or prophets instructed mankind to do it for the greater good, others instructed them to do it to please the Lord themselves.
Either way, serving people other than yourself or those known to you definitely makes you more compassionate.
At dinner time every day, ask your little one what they did throughout the day to serve someone else. It could be with a friend, sibling, pet or even a stray animal. Acts as simple as putting water in the animal’s bowl or adding more seeds to the bird feeder, or sharing a toy with a friend, all are acts of kindness.
It’s always the small things that matter and help create the “bigger picture” when raising a compassionate child.
Once you make it a regular affair to ask this question at dinner every day, your child also realises that this is a natural and important part of their lives. Contributing positively to another person’s life becomes an integral part of their thought process.
2. What Do You Want To Thank God For Today?
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Have you ever shared something without the thought of getting it back? You must try if you haven’t and for those who have, you know what we are talking about.
When you share something without asking for much in return, it’s more about sharing what you have because there is a higher power taking care of you. In some way, you realise that there’s someone looking out for you and that fills you up with gratitude.
Even research confirms that gratitude is a strong feeling and often associated with greater happiness. It helps improve positive emotions, enhance good experiences, provides for better physical and mental wellbeing, and also build strong relationships.
The benefits of gratitude are definitely noteworthy, which is why you must teach children to thank god every day. Irrespective of the power you pray to, it helps to take out time every day and thank god for whatever they had to offer.
It helps you reflect on the day you’ve had and how different actions affected you as a person. Not all days will be good, of course, but having gratitude helps you build a positive mindset and the will to wake up the next day and strive towards having a better life.
Both of these questions may seem simple. But over a period, they focus on sending the consistent message of remaining grateful for what you have and sharing that with others.
In the long run, it will help your child build character and also fulfil the bigger picture in a much more satisfying way for you as a parent. The task is raising good humans.
They can be great at academics, sport, performing arts and so much more. But they need to be good humans at the core of it all.
7 Ways To Know You Are Raising Compassionate Child
We hope you do include these two questions in your dinner-time conversation at home with your children. At the same time, here’s how you can raise a compassionate child in your day-to-day life.
- Model positive action
- Treat your child with respect
- Don’t let rudeness slide
- Acknowledge kindness
- Understand your child’s perception
- Let your child know that their actions matter to you
- Lead by example
After all, only a compassionate child can create a better tomorrow.
Source: Aleteia.com
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