Today's lesson is that of respect. Respect, as many of you are aware, has great importance in everyday life. One hopes that children will learn respect from their parents. The child learns the most from the way the parents behave in the presence of the child. If, in presence of the child, the parents fight or rebuke each other or use curse words, the child is bound to learn this. If the child sees that the parents respect not only each other but also other members of the household or society they move in, they will also learn the same. They will also develop the habit of respecting others.

As a child growing up in a single parent family, I'm sure outsiders tended to judge my brother and I on the basis of our simple living conditions and adherence to rules. It was common to hear my dad explaining to my brother and I why a desired behavior is so important. For example, he would explain that thanking someone for a gift shows how much we appreciate the thought, time and money that went into choosing and purchasing the gift. My dad would tell us to look people in the eye when they speak to us to show that we are respectful listeners, and we don't interrupt. He would especially teach us respect for our things as well as the property of others. This was very important to my dad as he knew he could not give us the things the other kids got, but instead, he taught us that saving our money to buy things was very powerful. Taking care of things would allow them to last longer, and most importantly, he thought teaching boundries was important when it came to property. Can you imagine that feuds my brother and I had over Hot Wheels? My dad set us straight on that one.

Unfortunately, I do not witness appropriate parent role models every day. If only parents realized just how powerful their actions can be.

You may have heard the famous verse, "children learn what they live" authored by Dorothy Law Nolte in 1974. I will leave you with this short verse in hopes that it will spur parent role modeling in a positive way upon children. It goes like this:

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.