Respect

In one instance, an adult's remark to a kid, "Parents do not need to respect kids. Its the other way." and the kid's response was that mutual respect is needed. In another instance, a kid told the parent, "I respect you more cause you respect us"

Both the instances made me dive into the topic- "do parents need to respect kids?"

My answer is absolutely YES!!! Immediate question is "how do we show the respect?"

Not by saying yes for everything, not by removing the boundaries, not by avoiding the consequences for breaking the rules. By practicing "active listening." The keyword here is "practice," cause life happens and so are the slip-ups. Moreover, our listening skills need to be sharpened in parallel to the child's development.

Active listening has many components. Some are:

1. Listening to their concerns without dismissing them

2. Not judging their accomplishments or opinions

3. Value their input as needed

This communicates that they are seen and heard or in other words "respected."

Active listening can be practiced with ease when parents respect themselves by modeling the above steps in their day to day life. In addition to understanding their own needs and setting boundaries without guilt, owning the slip-ups is another major step towards self-respect.

By apologizing without excuses and by not beating themselves up for their mistakes, parents can demonstrate compassion and self-respect. With consistent self-respect, it becomes second nature to show respect towards kids. Kids learn more from what they witness than what they hear.