Teaching your child to be grateful

Teaching your child to be thankful begins in infancy, when they are still very egocentric. They can begin to understand that they are dependent on you, that you do things to make them happy, but they are still too young to articulate their thanks. By age four, they are able to appreciate acts of kindness and love from others, and can express gratitude for those acts. When you teach your child to be grateful, you'll increase his/her appreciation of the things they have in life.

You can start teaching your child to be grateful by having your family practice it themselves. For example, thank each person who does something nice for you, even if you don't feel like it. Try to be grateful in all circumstances, even if it's a gloomy day or a hard day at work. Modeling a grateful attitude will help your child understand how others view him/herself, and he/she will be more likely to emulate the behavior.

Teaching your child to respect authority

When your child starts to resist your authority, it may be a sign of strained relationships. Spend quality time with your child and teach them to respect authority. When your child respects you, they'll respect you back. Similarly, if they have a problem with you, try to resolve it before it becomes an issue. Also, if possible, teach them to respect others as well. If this doesn't work, you can try other parenting techniques to help your child respect authority.

If you're struggling to instill this important value in your child, try these three simple ways. Your child will be more likely to learn to respect authority when they see you treat others with respect and love. Modeling respect in a child is the best way to achieve this goal. Modeling the behavior is important because children learn from what they see their parents doing and if they feel that they are loved, they are likely to copy it.

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Teaching your child to have empathy for others

One of the best ways to teach your child to have empathy for others is to incorporate stories and books related to the topic. Children learn about empathy when they observe and respond to stories from other perspectives. Picture books, for example, can be an excellent way to teach children about different emotions and feelings. Children will also benefit from discussions about how these feelings affect others. Ultimately, empathy is about respecting others, and this is easier said than done.

A few things you can do to foster your child's empathy are to create a happy home environment. Model empathy by talking about common interests and letting your child see what you're going through. Likewise, if possible, allow your child to play with other children of different races, colors, or religions. By doing so, you'll be modeling empathy. This way, your child will learn to see other people as people who have different needs and feelings than themselves.

Teaching your child to be independent

When teaching your child to be independent, start with routines and consequences. Setting a clear schedule will prevent chaos and allow your child to feel independent. For example, instead of letting your child choose what to wear on the way to school, hang up a chart for putting away backpacks on coat hooks or by the front door. This will help your child learn to check the task when he or she is finished.

Allowing your child some space to explore their environment can help build independence. Let them go to the playground or bike ride without you. However, make sure to teach them how to approach strangers and cross busy streets safely. When it's safe to do so, let them take care of pets or younger siblings. If your child is old enough, you can let him or her order lunch from a cafe. While this may seem like a daunting task, trusting your child to make the right choices can help your child become more independent.