Loving and Cherishing Our Elders
There is not a day that goes by that I do not reminisce on time past. I think of my grandparents and the things they said or done. I think of the precious time that God has extended to my parents to still be here and encouraging and helping in many ways.
Wisdom cannot be bought. I cherish the time they have spent with my daughter and her cousins. Wisdom is a great teacher.
Teaching children to respect all people especially elders will give them a rare quality above their peers that do not have respect for elders or anyone for that matter.
We were taught to say ma'am and sir when speaking to adults. I require the same for my child. My nieces and nephews were taught the same thing but now I see some of them allowing their children to speak to adults in a register that they speak to their peers.This is not welcomed by me.
Respect goes a long way in the eyes of most people. Children are the future and elders are remnants of the past. We have four living generations in my family. My dad the patriarch will be 86 in a couple of days and the youngest is three weeks old. My dad lived in a period where there were no phones, television, and running water and indoor restrooms. My great nephew comes along and there is a television on almost any kind of device. A camera and a recorder in the hands of many 3 and 4 year olds.
We had to really work for our coins when a dollar meant so much when I was young. Now children expect five dollars or more from the tooth fairy, at least twenty dollars for their birthday and they are not ashamed to show displeasure in gifts that are given to them out of love.
This past week I viewed a video on Facebook called 4 year old gangster. I was ashamed to watch it. He used profanity without shame and he swung at his grandmother with all the strength he could muster. I could only think what would have happened to me if I had done that in private, not mentioning in public. It is embarrassing to watch.
Many people say it takes a village to raise a child. I say the parents are responsible. Remember the village idiots. Monitor and discipline your children. Demand respect for yourself and others from your child. Most of all teach them to respect themselves. They and us (parents) will be better off for it. If we as parents model it more than likely they will too.
God Bless and cherish the time.
Recent Comments
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Good afternoon Marquette,
That was a real good post on something which I also have noticed and which somehow bothers me. This last Saturday we had guests for lunch. It was the daughter of a Spanish friend who died some years ago. Sonia has a small daughter of some 7 years.
First of all, she did not listen to her mother at all. Then she slapped her mother a couple of times and she also managed to put her leg on the table during lunch. I was observing all this and thought that I for sure would never have done a thing like this being a child.
Things are changing that I know but they are not all good.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Oh my. I am the kind of person if you are in my home I will correct you if your guardians don't. It is terrible the way parents let their young ones dole out the discipline. Thank you Taetske.
I totally agree with you, Marguette. Some parents need to spend more time with their kids. The way I hear some kids talking to their parents in shopping malls is disgraceful.
You are right. Little monsters make big monsters if you don't steer them in the right direction. Thank you Darlene.
It sounds like you had a very traditional upbringing and I applaud you for bringing your children up that same way: Good on Ya!
Thank you Mickey. My parents were firm and we had the best of times. Children do not have to be in control to like or love as a matter of fact it is quite the opposite.
All sad but true! Respect for elders, respect for self and others is sorely lacking so it seems these days. Gotta get back to some discipline and respect. Everything seems to be society is afraid to allow children to experience REAL LIFE...it's all about protecting them from anything bad...appeasing them...making them feel good...don't upset them or God forbid tell them NO!
I find that children really like boundaries. Cynthia real life is getting no and turned down. Things won't be handed to you. Even if you are a robber some people will not just hand you their things. You will get a no. We have to do something as a society to teach parents to be parents. Thank you for your input.
You're right, Marquette. Children need their parents to be good role models and educators for them.
Hi Nelson,
We are our children's first teachers and examples and we should be the best that we can be. Thank you.
I agree with you Marquette.
By not teaching children what respect is, you are doing a bad service to them.
Thanks for sharing this post with us!
Sorry Marquette, when writing "...you are doing..." I didn't mean to attack you. Actually I ment to say the people in general. Therefore I should have written: "By not teaching our children what respect is, we are doing a bad service to them."
Hope you can forgive me.
Children need guidance from their parents. No question. The statistics on one parent raising the child is heartbreaking. In today's culture, even 2 parents in the home is alarming (due mostly to distractions). I don't need to list everything that takes away from proper rearing. All of them are unacceptable but they permeate society.
Appreciate your post, Mark
Hi Mark,
I appreciate your comments and the astounding facts that you have presented. Yes things should not be our main focus, it should be the well being of our children becoming productive citizens.
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GOOD POST THANK YOU
Thank you for reading and acknowledging it, Abdulrahman. I appreciate it.