This post will look at those children that not only have no respect for authority, but also those that have no respect for property or anything else. Respect should be placed on the endangered species list because it has become an extremely rare commodity. We will discuss the underlying reasons for the decline in respect as well as tips for teaching children to have respect for people and things.
Survey Results - No Respect
Recently I saw a survey conducted by a nationally recognized provider of training for early childhood educators, and they asked what was the one area that causes the most problems in your childcare. Overwhelmingly, the response was lack of respect. It has become increasingly difficult to be a teacher of any age over the last decade or so. The lack of respect for authority, others, and other people's property has reached alarming proportions. I have heard many older teachers comment on the decline and how rapid it has become in recent years. This has made many teachers of all ages consider retirement or other professions in increasing numbers including me. Some days this job can be downright difficult if not impossible because of no respect.
Is Respect Necessary?
Some in the early childhood field actually feel that respecting authority is not really necessary. It falls in the same category as obedience. They truly feel that obedience and having to respect authority makes children more susceptible to child abuse. Therefore, teachers in early childhood programs should respect children, but children do not necessarily have to respect the teachers. Talk about having the cart before the horse. I used the word "some" at the beginning of this paragraph when I should have used the words "those in power" because every scale and most nationally accepted programs follow this philosophy. I truly believe this to be one of the most destructive philosophies in the early childhood community. This particular one has done more societal damage than any other of the philosophies that I have complained about in this blog.
Does obedience and respecting authority make children more susceptible to child abuse? I would think this to be a no-brainer, but many people believe this wholeheartedly. Child abusers take advantage of obedience and respect in children, but completely obliterating obedience and respect for this reason would be like obliterating our government because some in power abuse their position. We need government and laws for a stable society. Anarchy is no fun for anybody. Basically, this is what these early childhood "experts" have done to this society. Simply because some adults abuse their position of authority, they have chosen anarchy by demonizing the concepts of obedience and respect for authority. All you have to do is look around at today's society to see that they have nearly succeeded in establishing anarchy. One of the by-products of no obedience or respect is narcissistic behavior. We have had a literal explosion of narcissistic behavior among children and young adults in the last decade, and people, it is just going to get worse until we decide obedience and respect for authority might be a good thing.
Respect Has Great Value
How in the world do we turn the tide? Number one, you have to decide if teaching children to respect people and other people's property has value. To say that you will be going against the flow of society on this one would be an extreme understatement. For those of you that live in highly regulated states it just might cost you your business. All it takes is one person twisting what you do to completely destroy your business and reputation, and believe me, I have witnessed firsthand how ugly the establishment can be to those that dare go against the flow. However, I chose to go against the flow regardless of what can be done to me because I will someday stand before my God and give an account of how I conducted my life and business. He takes obedience and respect very seriously and therefore, so do I. The children we serve deserve to be raised in such a way that they will actually be functioning adults when they get to adulthood. Going against the flow may cost you, but if you really want to make a difference, here is your chance.
Respect Should Be Expected
Once you have decided that respect has value, then you expect it from the children you serve. There is no magic formula that produces respect without effort. This one comes the old-fashioned way. Basically you get from children what you expect, and if you expect respect, it will come. Will it come with trials and tribulations? Absolutely. Remember you are having to reset a generation. However, if you communicate to them that respect for people and property is not an option, they will eventually get the memo. The early childhood experts have put respect and obedience into the optional category for children, but just see what kind of response you would get from these "experts" if you tried to say that washing hands was optional. If we would just treat obedience and respect the same way we treat all the crazy handwashing we have to do, we could reset this generation in a year or two. We put so much emphasis in the wrong places these days. Like the Bible says, "we strain out the gnat and swallow the camel." We really have it so backwards.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!!
Check out Natalie's children's books at: https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457
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