How to Teach Kids How to Have Respect in Relationships

Teaching respect can be tricky. Even mentioning the word can trigger a negative reaction from a child who feels attacked or punished. So, how do you explain it to a young child? Focusing on empathy might be a more effective approach. Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. Many parents use the “Golden Rule” to illustrate this concept. The Golden Rule, found in many religions, urges us to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Its power lies in its simplicity. If your child starts hitting, you can stop him and explain that his actions caused you pain. By showing that rude actions and disrespectful behavior affect others, you give your child a tangible concept for understanding respect.

Show Don’t Tell

Figuring out how to explain respect to a child is a challenging task. To truly teach children empathy and respect, you must start with yourself. They watch and mirror what you do, regardless of what you try to teach them. Don’t forget, your child is like a sponge. Every time you speak to your child, they learn about respect or disrespect in relationships. Your job as a parent is to be aware of your actions and be a role model of respectful behavior and good manners for your children when reacting to them. When talking about relationships, the following are ways you can teach and model respect for kids:

Be Mindful About How You Communicate

Parents try to teach their children anger management, but they often react to children out of anger without thinking and need to take the time to calm down. Next time your children do something that upsets you, take a minute to breathe and calm yourself before reacting.

Be Reliable and Accountable

Respect for others means doing what you said you’ll do. You may do your best to follow through on the promises made to your employer and partner, but what about your children? When you make a promise that you’ll take your child to the park, do you keep that? They deserve the same mutual respect you give your work and spouse but are often given secondary status. By showing them you care enough about them to be reliable, you are giving them a model to follow in their own lives.

Actively Listen

When speaking with your child, repeating what they say is an easy way to show mutual respect. This small action lets them know you are paying attention, and any confusion between you can get cleared up immediately without developing into an argument or showcasing disrespectful behavior.

Be Honest

Honesty encourages attitudes of trust and acceptance in a healthy relationship. Sometimes, it may not feel easy or possible to be honest with children, but you should strive for it. They are more intelligent than they are given credit for, so when you are dishonest, there is a good chance they’ve already realized it and may reflect that through their behavior.

Understand and Empathize

“You don’t know what it’s like!” You may have heard this phrase before, but do you ever take the time to ask yourself what life must be like for your child? What are they going through? What are they feeling? It’s been a while since you were a kid, and the world is very different now. The key to an empathetic, healthy relationship is considering things from their perspective. You may be surprised by the lessons your child has learned from their peers or in the classroom and what they are dealing with daily.

Teach Respect for Yourself

By modeling respectful behavior for your child, you are teaching respect for others and teaching your child to respect themselves. This is a lesson parents often forget. Your little one deserves to feel safe and valued. As they become a respectful adult, they deserve to be respected as their own person and given a chance to make their own decisions whenever possible.

In addition to the behaviors mentioned above, you can teach this lesson by helping your child develop independence, problem-solving skills, and decision-making abilities. As children grow, they rely less on their parents and must learn how to make the right choices for themselves. While it might be challenging, you shouldn’t intervene in every difficult situation they encounter. When your young child faces a problem, the best approach is to discuss the issue with them and collaborate on finding a solution. By not automatically solving the problem for them, you encourage them to consider options and consequences before acting. This way, they gain the confidence and tools to handle issues positively on their own and won’t depend on others to solve their problems.

As children grow and reach different childhood development stages, the lessons about relationships you teach your kids will stay with them throughout their lives. All For Kids offers programs and resources to help parents with difficult lessons like these. Visit our parenting blog or talk to our helpful representatives today.