Back in December, I wrote a post called, What to Do When the Children You Teach Don’t Respect You. The post got quite a bit of comments and many of you had something to say about respect. Some of you had great experiences, no problems at all. Some of you no–not so much. Respect is a problem but we don’t have to just hope it gets better. We have to (politely) demand respect and not only that but we have to teach kids how to give it to one another and to the adults who love and mentor them. I’m not saying we should teach kids to blindly respect every adult. Not all adults are worthy of respect but kids today need to see and know the choice.
I’ve got a handy acronym that will help you teach kids about respect. Teach the acronym to your volunteers and everyone involved in teaching kids. It does come in handy. Ready? Here it is! Feel free to tweak if you need to.
R is for remind kids what respects means. Talk to your kids about respecting one another.
E is establishing boundaries. Kids shouldn’t call you Mike or Becky. Even if it irks you, you should teach kids to call you Miss, Mr, Mrs, Pastor or Teacher. Set boundaries and expect kids to use them.
S is for say and do. Set an example.
P is for praying with kids. After you teach them about respect, teach them how to pray about respect. How to get it, how to give it. That’s important.
E is for empower kids with verses about respect. I’m going to list a few at the the bottom of this post!
C is for challenging the status quo. “Yeah, but we all call you Mike. Why should we change it?” Challenge that! “Say, I’m still Mike but I want you to call me Mr. Mike and I will call you by your real name because I respect you. We can do this.
T is for talking to parents and grandparents. Get them involved and teach them how to earn their child’s respect and then get it!
Verses for Respect:
- Matthew 7:21“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
- Romans 21:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
- 1 Peter 2:17 “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog at Tools for Kids Church.