R-E-S-P-E-C-T

This characteristic trait, value, symbol, word has been coming up repeatedly in life these days, so I thought this would be a great topic for Tuesday. In fact, my daughter and I talked about the importance of this yesterday when I picked her up from school. She apparently had an incident with another girl (a 2nd grader) in which the little girl was pushing her under the water in the pool when nobody was looking. My daughter doesn't understand how someone can be your friend one minute, then so cruel the next. Later in the day, this girl (we'll call her "Sara") asked if she could be her best friend when my daughter's best friend isn't around. The only thing I could think of on the spot (it takes me time to process usually) is that this little girl, while older than my daughter, may feel a bit envious of the friendship Paige & her little best friend have? As an observer, I've seen Sara often bully other children which is common at that age while learning how to navigate the world especially if nobody redirects the energy.

In an article by Elizabeth Hamilton (The Importance of Teaching Respect to Kids), she tells us that, "Like most of us, bullies want to be admired. They want people to think they have great worth - that they are important. They seek recognition. The trouble is that they go about their pursuit of recognition in the wrong way. They employ tactics such as name-calling, fighting, and stealing to make others seem small and insignificant. Subconsciously, they appear to decide that the more people they bring down, the more they will raise their own worth."

Instead of seeking attention or self value from bullying others, there are ways for children to gain esteem in positive ways. That's OUR job as parents, teachers, counselors, staff members....to role model respect to the children, our leaders of tomorrow.

With that, I leave you with a challenge for today. Do something good that makes you smile today - self respect is the starting block.

“Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” -- Stacey Charter