Raising kind kids

Our children are the reflection of us. Or so they say. If we are to believe that, then setting a good example is crucial. Where and how do you show your children that compassion and kindness goes a long way?

Home Sweet Home
Charity begins at home. Whoever who said that, sure knew what he was talking about. How can your children be nice to others if they watch you being cruel to the maid or the pet? Many a home prides itself over the authority it holds over a maid. I’ve witnessed many in public maids being humiliated, not being allowed to eat with the family at the table, etc. Why smack Junior when he bites the maid when you’re doing the same thing verbally?

Do ensure that at home you are doing the basics. Let your maid eat when you eat. Let her have enough rest. If you really don’t want her to eat outside with you, let her take a walk while the family dines. You’re not just treating your maid better but you’re also teaching Junior a lesson in compassion here.

Pass It On
There is never such a thing as a child is too young to be doing good deeds. If your child is able to walk, talk and think, now is as good as ever.

Explain to your children the happiness that good deeds bring and the selflessness it brings out in a person. Set a goal for them. Encourage them to do one good deed a day. It could be from anything as simple as petting the family dog or thanking the postman as he delivers the letters each day. The best thing, about doing good deeds, is size does not matter.

As children move to nursery or playschool, teach them about ‘paying it forward’. When your kid does something nice for a mate in class, tell him to whisper to his friend to pay it forward and do something nice for someone else. You are not only teaching your child to perform good deeds, but you are teaching him to be humble as well!

Today’s World
Present day world is facing a crisis. No, I’m not referring to the economic crisis that is dampening everybody’s spirits. I’m talking about the manner in which almost everybody is caught up with the false happiness that is provided by material pleasures. As we scramble to buy the ‘bigger’ house or the ‘nicer’ car, think first of what such an action reflects on your 5 or 6-year-old. That materialism equates power?

What the world is lacking is not cars or houses or cash. The shortage lies in human compassion. As we stuff potato chips into our mouth and watch, without batting an eyelid at television images of Ethiopian children lying by the roadside with open wounds, walk past a child in India who mercifully begs for a cent, stare at a kitten whose tail is bleeding, we transfer the lack of empathy and the deep density of ignorance onto our children.

At the end of the day, it is not how much you have but how much you have helped and that is something that should be embedded in each child.

Agree with the author? Do selfish parents beget selfish kids?
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