How to Teach Your Child About Tolerance and Respect

Our children will see more change, travel to more places, learn more things, and be exposed to a wider range of people and cultures than any other generation in human history. They'll need to learn tolerance and respect in order to flourish in this complicated and varied environment.

How a Sense of Security Is Crucial

When youngsters feel protected, they develop tolerance and respect. This feeling of security has two dimensions. The first is the conviction that one is unique, valuable, and accepted. When the most significant individuals in a child's life continuously tell and show her how much she is loved, this develops. It will be much simpler for your child to embrace others after she has experienced this unconditional acceptance.

            The second important factor is a child's perception of new events as a danger. Our brains include numerous of neuronal systems involved in reading and responding to possible dangers, from the brainstem to the cortex. Until shown otherwise, the brain will label new experiences as unpleasant and even dangerous.

                                As a result, all new events or stimuli stimulate the brain's stress-regulating neuronal networks. If your kid is in a secure and familiar environment, the sensations that result from this activation will be seen as "excitement." When she is in an unknown and perhaps dangerous area, however, the same experience will be scary.

Help Your Child Respect Herself

                In the process of developing a sense of self, the people in our life work as a mirror: when they pay attention to us, encourage us, and applaud us, our reflections are clear and positive; when they don't, our interactions may make us feel ugly or inept. A kid develops to respect herself when she is taught to feel special and appreciated, and a firm, positive sense of self permits the developing child to respect others.

                                    Our predisposition to pay more attention to negative cues than good ones complicates the process of developing self-esteem — and the corresponding capacity for respect. A single negative remark can be amplified in ways that good remark couldn't simply overcome.

Signs That a Child Needs Support

                A youngster who is intolerant will judge others who are different from her and is more likely to lash out, tease, or bully others. Children who struggle with tolerance contribute to a climate of fear and exclusion for the persons and organizations they despise. This kind of prejudice can lead to bullying. Intolerant children are insecure in terms of their position, abilities, beliefs, and values.

                    You may see overt disobedience and rebellion, as well as a lack of respect for siblings, you, and your authority as a parent, when a kid is dealing with respect. Despite the fact that these youngsters frequently boast and exaggerate their skills and talents, this is almost always coupled with a low sense of self. This bravado is really a protective shell over a shaky sense of self.

                                        When a youngster begins to say things like "I'm awful," "I can't do that," "I'm stupid," or "He's better than I am," this is another indicator of struggle. When a youngster has a low self-esteem, she tends to limit her options. She doesn't put in as much effort as she should, and as a result, she may lag behind her classmates, creating a self-fulfilling prophesy.

How to Promote Tolerance and Respect in Young Children

• Make your child feel special, secure, and loved by making him or her feel special, safe, and cherished.

Don't be stingy with your compliments. A youngster who is loved learns to love.

• Create chances for individuals to learn about different locations, people, and cultures.

Through books, songs, cuisine, and cultural events and festivals, expose your kid to a range of viewpoints.

• When you hear or observe intolerant conduct, take action.

Don't be harsh; instead, assist your youngster in learning more positive ways to communicate with others.

• To mold and encourage your child's behavior, use encouraging comments.

Avoid using the word "no" in your instructions (for example, "Don't do it"). It will be more effective to offer helpful options ("Be patient with your sibling").

• Tolerance and respect should be modeled.

By witnessing how you talk about, relate to, and appreciate other people, your child will learn to reach out and be sensitive and courteous of others.