An excerpt from Parenting with an Attitude....21 Questions Successful Parents Ask Themselves

July 27, 2009
Do I respect my kids?
"Respect is caught by our kids more than it is directly taught to them by us. Their need and right for respect is not based on age, nor is it earned by performance or ability. While rights and privileges are earned and certainly can be lost, respecting our kids—just because they are our kids—must be a constant, a right that is never taken from them.

Respecting them, while not always easy or natural, is a fundamental necessity if we are to help our kids have a sense of their own self-worth. If we are able to respect them just because of who they are-in spite of how they act or behave-then they will be more likely to grow up with a greater knowledge of who they are and what it is they have to offer. They will also develop a greater capacity and desire to respect others as well.

Bottom line: raising great kids requires that parents show them they are respected just for being who they are.

A good question that might help in assessing the quality of respect you have for your kids is this: do I treat my best friends and my kids in a similar manner when it comes to respect?"

Ed Wimberly, author of Parenting with an Attitude....21 Questions Successful Parents Ask Themselves

Discussion Questions:
1. As a child growing up, were you respected by your parents?

2. What signs of respect do you remember from them?

3. What impact did their respect/non-respect have when you
were growing up?

4. Do you treat your best friend and your kids in a similar respectful
manner?

5. Do you agree or disagree with the idea that respect is caught
more than it is simply taught to our kids?

6. Are you succeeding at instilling in your kids a respect for
others?

7. What signs do you see that suggest that you are succeeding?

8. In what ways do you show respect to your kids?

9. In what ways do you see your kids showing respect (or disrespect)
toward others?