Why I teach my child about respect

When I have a request for my two year old, I ask him if he would please help me.

When he helps me, I reply with "Thank you, dear."


I respect him.

Why?

Because he is my child and someone in his own right. I cannot expect of him to respect me when I don't show respect towards him.

I am of course the example he follows there for he respects his dad, grandparents, other family members, friends and even strangers on the street. 

For now I want him to understand that there are certain social rules he needs to obey. ‘I may not take things that are not mine.'

‘I should not hurt others when I am feeling hurt.’
‘I should consider the outcome of my actions on myself and other people.’

One day my son will take a girl on a date. I will be proud when he opens the door for her and treat her well.  He should be too.

I want him to be able to manage himself in the workplace one day, to work hard and get along with his co-workers and feel good about it. 

Do we still have respect for our loved ones, or for that matter ‘the man on the street?’ Do we still say please and thank you or even a quick “Have a nice day?" We as parents need to lead by example because our children follow in our footsteps. 

We all want our children to be respected, treated well, liked and loved. It starts with showing respect, treating others well, being polite regardless of appearance or special needs. This makes life much easier.

It all starts with a simple thing such as teaching my two year old to say please and thank you...

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