LET'S TALK about RESPECT Conversation Starters

When a baby is born, the only way it knows how to communicate what it needs is to cry. As babies grow into toddlers, kicking, screaming, biting, lying, name calling, and temper tantrums are all natural strategies that a determined child will try, in order to get what he or she wants. It’s a parent’s job to teach their children more civilized ways to communicate so that they will fit into society and lead happy, successful lives. It’s easy for children to be influenced by friends or the media, and slide into disrespectful behaviors. They soon learn that it is another way to get what they want. We can’t blame them for trying. This is human nature at work. But it’s our fault if we let it continue. 
 
It’s important to point out that in any kind of relationship, we teach people how to treat us. What we allow is what we are telling our children is acceptable. We know when our kids are being disrespectful. It makes us feel bad. It makes us angry. But since we don’t know how to handle it, we often let it pass until it becomes unbearable. We do our children a disservice by not addressing it. Every other adult they come in contact with (teachers, coaches, parents) will have the same negative reaction we have and make judgements and decisions based on that behavior. We are setting our children up for failure and sending them out into the world ill-equipped to build good relationships. 
 
Children don’t easily understand how RESPECT can affect their lives. It’s about building positive relationships that help them get what they want out of life. A teacher treated with disrespect may not be totally fair when it comes to subjective grades. A coach may take disrespect into consideration when deciding who plays and who sits on the bench. The best analogy uses the RED and GREEN lights kids see every day at intersections. RESPECT is more likely to give you a GREEN light to move forward toward something you want to do or have. DISRESPECT hurts and angers people and makes it much less likely that they are going to help you or say yes to what you want.