Whether you’re at school or home, there are several ways to help your child learn respect and feel respected in return.
- Talk to your child like the adult you wish them to become
- In their early years, sure, baby talk is great! Once your child is no longer a toddler, it’s probably a good idea to leave the baby talk behind. Talking to your child like an adult can help boost their confidence and improve their morale.
- Listen to your child
- Sometimes, we don’t always use our listening ears as parents. We forget that our children need our listening ears, just as we need theirs. As a parent, you can provide feedback about what your child is feeling and what they need from you.
- Don’t interrupt
- Notice when your child is concentrating on something and let them complete their thought or task before interrupting. Disrupting your child can lead to feelings of incompleteness and sadness with your child and may cause a tantrum to ensue. Allow your child to speak and finish their thought, project or game, even if it takes a while.
- Offer them a role
- Children should feel like they have a place at school, at home, with their family and in other activities. It’s important to treat them more like partners instead of employees. Don’t make demands. Instead, start by asking for their help. Of course, you are the boss, but making children feel like they’re part of a team can allow them to embrace their role in the house and in the classroom.
- Offer praise at good things and don’t laugh at mistakes
- When your child makes a mistake, be patient and encourage them! Let them discover their own mistakes and don’t point them out. They may be silly mistakes, but don’t respond with laughter. Responding with laughter can damage your child’s self-esteem and discourage them from participating.
- Show you trust them
- One of the best ways to show respect for your child is to show you trust them. Often times, that means giving your children freedom to make their own decisions and following through with their own attempts. Instead of cleaning up the milk they spilled, let your child know you trust them to do it by themselves. The more they do things by themselves, the more your child will learn and grow!
- Give your child space
- Give your child a sense of privacy to show you trust them. Knock before you enter their room and try not to talk about your child in front of other adults.