How to Teach Your Child to Respect Others

I’m school assembly performer Joe Romano. Schools in MD, NY, CT, PA, VA, and Washington DC praise my ability to blend fun and exciting magic with curriculum-based lessons and important messages. Every month I add articles just like this to my blog.

Respect is a contradiction – it’s so simple yet so complicated. How can we as parents, teachers, school faculty and more teach such a crucial yet nebulous concept to children? This article reveals 4 simple ways to help children ‘get’ this all-important concept.

Teaching Children Respect Idea #1: Limit Negative Social Media

There’s no doubt the enormous impact social media has had on our lives. People use social media to connect with loved ones, long-lost friends, and more. But the amount of toxic content on social media is staggering. With exposure to that much negativity, children will likely come away with the wrong ideas of how to treat others.

The solution? Limit your child’s screen time. While you’re at it, police their social media interactions. If they engage in negative behavior, explain why what they are doing is wrong. And don’t be afraid to encourage your child to block negative people on their social media feeds.

No one has ever won an argument on social media. People are a lot more assertive behind a keyboard than they are in real life. Limit your child’s exposure to such needless and hurtful behavior.

Teaching Children Respect Idea #2: Point Out Respectful & Disrespectful Behavior

Keep your eyes open and you’ll have plenty of opportunity to teach your children about respect by example. When you’re out in public with your child, point out both respectful and disrespectful behavior. Be sure to use the words ‘respectful’ and ‘disrespectful’ too.

But don’t just stop at labeling the behavior. Ask your child to tell you why the other person’s actions were or were not respectful. Listen to what your child says. Be sure to correct them if they have the wrong idea.

Don’t focus as much on the labels. Instead, use the actions of others to help define respect for your child.

Teaching Children Respect Idea #3: Monitor Your Child’s Behavior

If your child engages in disrespectful behavior, be sure to jump in. Let your child know that what they did was not okay. But don’t just stop at correcting them. Turn the incident into a teachable moment. Ask them to tell you why what they did was disrespectful.

Don’t forget about the other side of the coin. If your child does something respectful and kind, be sure to notice it. Tell them why what they did was so great. Reinforce respectful behavior whenever you see it.

Teaching Children Respect Idea #4: Be a Good Role Model

Turn the mirror toward yourself. Do you find yourself going off the handle? Do you argue with people on social media? So many adults in our country get sucked into the vacuum of negativity on social media. If you find yourself getting stressed out and riled up by interacting with people online, step back.

Many grownups think that by interacting with people on social media, they are defending their views. But too often it turns into a shouting match (metaphorically speaking), and it soon turns nasty.

Remember, even when you don’t think your kids are paying attention, they are. Your child will model your behavior on a variety of things you didn’t realize they were aware of. Even if your child is not online with you, you may catch yourself saying things like, “That idiot online said…” when talking to other grownups. Your kids are paying attention too. Turn yourself into a positive role model for your child.

The best part? You’ll feel better when you cut the negativity out of your life!

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