7 fundamental values that we have stopped transmitting to our children ... and that we should recover!
While trying to live in the present, without making too many comparisons with the past and without the utopian prospects of the future; it is useless to say "we were better off when we were worse off" or "once things were not like that".
We must be able to accept that every historical moment is unique and unrepeatable, with its changes and progress (or regressions).
Moreover, there is no better or worse, just the moment we are living in. These are reflections that open up a discussion on the "state of health" (emotional and psychological well-being) of our youngest children's generation.
In the past, our children quarreled with their companions in the courtyard in front of the house, or in the park, today instead, the dramas take place inside the bright screens of a computer or smartphone!
In fact, in the era of the explosion of communication via social networks, the approach to experiencing and developing social relations has also changed for the newest generations and has become increasingly problematic and aggressive.
What is missing for this new "lost generation" is a scale of values. Do they know today what perseverance, empathy or respect for others actually mean? Here are the values that should always be taught to our children today within a family that truly respects itself:
- Tolerance: If your child tends to frequently complain about the way one of their peers expresses themselves, dresses, or thinks, then you, as a parent, have to step in and teach your child that the world around them is made up of other people, of other points of view, of other cultures, and that these must be absolutely respected, and tolerated.
- Respect: To be respected does not mean to instill fear, nor does it mean to receive or give physical punishment to others. To teach respect means instead to remain firm in one's own convictions, to create rules, and boundaries. Over time, these "boundaries" that are given to our children to help guide them will bear fruit.
- Consistency: Use common sense and never ask your children to do things or act contrary to what we, as adults, usually do. We must, therefore, be consistent.
- Gratitude: Due to the good examples we can teach and demonstrate to them, our children can learn the value of feeling gratitude toward others; knowing how to give an enormous value to the small gestures that others do for us (a drawing, a gift, a message of thanks) can give its best results as children become older.
- Humility: The arrogance and self-absorbed aggressiveness of the new generation is often the product of a desperate search for attention caused by the lack of affection within the family. We must be able to teach our children that everyone should be shown respect, we all make mistakes in our lives, and that our greatness is knowing how to recognize and correct our mistakes.
- Empathy: Children who are not very empathetic often have more difficulty than others in opening up and channeling their emotions. Therefore, to increase empathy towards others the ever effective channel of communication and transparency can be used. Allow your child to feel and experience all their emotions without shame, from joy to sadness.
- Sincerity: If we are the first to lie to ourselves, then our children can also do this to others and think that lying is an acceptable practice, but, of course, it is not. Children must understand that truth and sincerity toward us, as their parents, toward themselves, and others is an added value that is also capable of generating true respect.
There are numerous essential values that must be taught to our youngest children, but when we teach them good values by first being a good example of a mature and well-adjusted adult, then we are already a few steps ahead!
