Absence of Values: a Problem in Children of Today
Nowadays, many children behave poorly because of the absence of values. In the past, fights used to take place in the streets, or children used to write notes and put them inside their opponent’s backpack. Nowadays, fights happen over mobile phones and social media platforms.
We know the world is changing, but the values we must teach our children should never change. In fact, the only way to guide our kids and lead them through the right path is by teaching them values. This will help them to know what’s ethical and right in every situation.
Why is the absence of values a problem in children?
Children can be very different from each other. They can be shy, extroverted, bullies, victims, mature and immature. However, in the past, there was something that’s now missing today: values. Nowadays, many children don’t know anything about empathy, perseverance, respect, tolerance, generosity, gratitude, and honesty.
Even though children learn many things at school, parents are the ones in charge of teaching them values. In order to do this, we need to talk about their feelings, play with them, and also talk about different topics. So, what you really need is to spend quality time with them.
Children with good values may make mistakes, follow temptations, be curious, and even get into trouble. But, in the end, they’ll get back on track.
The absence of values: a problem we must fix at home
The following is a list of values we must teach 0ur children, and which we must all follow:
Tolerance
It’s very important to teach our children that they must share their home with other people and that we’re all different from each other. In fact, those differences make us unique and we must respect them. And, this includes those times when they disagree with other people.
If one day your children tell you they don’t like the way one of their classmates plays or thinks, it might be a good time to intervene and teach them this value. You must tell them to respect other people and their differences.
Empathy
Certain children are more empathic than others and find it quite easy to stand in the other person’s shoes. However, you should promote empathy in your children by talking about emotions. This is because children need to identify and regulate their emotions, in order to feel empathy.
Therefore, they should be able to experience sadness, joy, frustration, anger, fear, etc. As a result, they’ll be able to understand other people’s emotions, because they’ll know how those emotions feel.
Humbleness
One of the reasons for bullying is a lack of humbleness. This is because certain parents promote arrogance in their children. Sometimes, kids just want to attract attention, because they lack love or they’re overprotected. And, this is why they feel superior to the rest of their peers.
For this reason, it’s important to explain to your children that we all make mistakes, and identifying those mistakes is what makes us big. Besides, no one person is better than another.
Gratitude
Teaching our children to be grateful is also very important. For example, if someone offers them a kind gesture, they could thank them by drawing them something or inviting them for an afternoon snack.
Honesty
In this case, we should set an example. If we’re not honest, our children will learn that lying is normal. This is why you should always be honest and explain to them that telling the truth will make them feel better.
Respect
If you already set rules and boundaries that your children must respect, you’ll teach them this value. You must be firm and clear. This way, they’ll believe in you and respect you. Besides, they should respect other people, and never look down on others or insult them.
About the absence of values and the problem that children face
There are so many more values that you can teach your children. These include effort, patience, and perseverance. Furthermore, parents should be in charge of promoting these values at home. So, don’t wait for them to learn them at school. They may learn many things at school, but as parents, we’re responsible for instilling values.