Teaching Kids how to Love and Respect Elders

Have you ever seen your child yelling at you or other elders? Have you noticed how indifferent is your child towards you and also towards his/her grandparents? Do you feel bad when you witness a scene where your child shows none of the good manners for kids? Do you want to improve the situation but don’t know how to go about teaching respect for elders to your kids? If your answer to all these questions is a big ‘Yes’, then you are reading just the right article.

It is very easy to become a ‘Parent’ but very difficult to fulfil the responsibilities of ‘Parenting’. It is a never-ending task and requires a lot of patience and hard work. We, as parents, want our children to be the best. We want them to behave properly, respect elders, be good in studies and so and so. The list of our expectations goes on. But we often forget that to achieve all this, we need to put our best. We need to show them the right way.

If you are also an unhappy parent and struggling to make your child learn how to respect elders, read our tips. We are sure that with the right parenting tips you will be in a happier situation.

Lead By Example

Home is the first school for any child. You cannot teach your child respect by being disrespectful. Remember that he/she is following you and you are his role model. The way he/she behaves with his/her elders is a reflection of what he/she gets to see at home. Always show love and respect for your parents. Talk to them, give them time and take care of them. Never make your child feel that elders are a burden to you. Your child should feel that elders are important and valuable. He/she should understand that it is wrong to hurt elders. He/she should learn that it is a norm to respect elders and take care of them.

Bridge the Gap

If you your parents live with you or visit you often, it becomes your responsibility to create an environment where the child develops a bonding with them. You can follow some of the tried and tested parenting tips to foster a congenial relationship between your kids and their grandparents. Try some of the following:

• You can engage them in a game which both of them enjoy
  
• Make the child do colouring sitting close to the grandparent
  
• Make it a habit to have a daily storytelling session
  
• Arrange any indoor or outdoor activity that brings them closer
  
• Let them share ideas, let them discuss things.
  

This would help them have a better understanding of each other, which in turn will help the child love and respect all elders. In case your child is a little older, you can tell him/her to help the grandparent with technology updates. The idea is to incorporate any activity that brings the child and the elderly feel connected.

Stay Calm and Composed

Many a time you might be in a situation where it is difficult to stay calm and reacting badly comes as a reflex action to you. However, if you want to set an example of right behaviour and good manners for kids, try to stay calm in all situations. Never overreact even when the other person is shouting. This way your child will learn that shouting is not the solution. He/she will understand that one needs to stay calm and talk politely no matter what happens. This will help him to be polite with all including elders.

Teach Basic Manners

It is equally important for your child to learn the basic etiquettes and behave properly in society. They should know how to address others including elders respectfully and politely. So, as a parent, it becomes your utmost duty to teach your child all the manners in the best possible way.

It is equally important for your child to learn the basic etiquettes and behave properly in society. They should know how to address others including elders respectfully and politely. So, as a parent, it becomes your utmost duty to teach your child all good manners for kids in the best possible way.

Explain that Elders are Important

All elders are experienced people and we can learn a lot from them. Take this as a mantra and make your child understand this at the best. Explain to your child that all elders including grandparents, teachers, neighbours or even strangers have a lot of knowledge. You should tell your child that over the years, all elders have gained a lot of understanding and knowledge about different aspects of life. Make your child aware that he/she Your child can learn a lot from elders. and hence should interact with them and respect them

Free Dialogue and Realistic Expectation

You should clearly share your expectations with your child. He/she should know that you would not tolerate any behaviour that goes against the basic good manners for kids. You want him/her to be a good human being in life. Make sure that while sharing these inputs, you do not sound authoritative. Instead, he/she should sense that you are the best well-wisher for him/her. This is not going to affect anyone else. Make sure that your child takes all your inputs in a healthy manner.

Do not Hurt Your Child

It is quite possible that at some point in time you happen to see your child misbehaving with elders. Don’t panic in such a situation. Keep your anger in control and do not start shouting at your child then and there. You should understand that all of us make mistakes so if your child has done that, there is nothing unusual about it. Instead, take him/her out of that situation and talk to him/her when he/she is alone. Let this be a personal affair.

Conclusion

We are sure that these parenting tips will help you in the upbringing of your child. However, do remember that instilling values in a child is not a one day’s job. It is meant to be imbibed in the child from a tender age. Do not expect him/her to suddenly change and be a different person. Start early and be a role model.

We wish you all the luck in this immensely difficult task. Share your parenting tips and how you have helped imbibe good qualities in your children.

Happy Parenting until next!