Basic HTML Version
4 I The Best Online Education System in the world
TEACHING KIDS ABOUT ATTITUDE
Kathlyn Q. Barrozo
Class of 1991, University of Santo Tomas
B.S. Medical Technology
Have you ever wondered how some kids can have positive dispositions and a mature way of thinking while
others never seem to grow wiser at all? Teaching one’s own kid about attitude is a duty that every parent must
take responsibly. But what is the most practical way of teaching a child about proper attitude?
I once read this story many years ago from a guide to parenting book.
The writer talked about how she taught her kid the proper attitude to take about learning and exploring. She
had been working in the garden with her five-year-old. While she and her child were busy digging in the dirt,
they both saw a worm. The natural inclination, the writer knew, was to express disgust. But she wanted to
teach her own kid proper disposition, so she took the worm with her shovel and showed it to her child, not
expressing dislike for the creature. She talked about how the worm helped the plants they were cultivating, and
she also told her child not to harm the helpful worm. I believe that her child will have grown into a very
sensible and considerate parent herself.
Our children learn by example---more often, they imbibe values from what they see, not from what they hear.
They learn to emulate things a lot better based on what we show them. The huge responsibility of being a
parent includes knowing this small fact by heart. If you are to teach a child the way he should go, then live the
way he should live. See things the way he should see things. Consider other people the way he should consider
other people. If we fail in this respect, then we are not fit to be called a parent.
If all that our children see are enmity, disdain and complete disregard for other people, how can they see how
extremely important it is to be considerate and sensible to others? If they see us quarrelling with our spouses
or family or friends, how can we teach them about how essential it is to build relationships? If all they see is
blatant disregard for basic rules and regulations, how can we teach them to become responsible future
citizens?
As parents, it is our sole duty and responsibility to practice what we preach to our children. We have been pre-
ordained to teach them how to live life and how to be human by showing them how to do so and be so. Talk is
cheap; it is actions that speak much louder. Most important of all, let us teach our children proper attitude by
accepting that we are not perfect beings ourselves. By doing so, we equip them with a humble attitude to
accept that they can also make mistakes, but are meant to learn from those mistakes. Such is the attitude that
they must learn to have.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist or both? When are those times when you are more of one than the
other?
2.
Is it easy to face life with a positive attitude all the time? Elaborate on your answer.
3.
What attitudes about life have you learned from your parents?
4.
How will you teach your own child about proper attitude?
5.
Why do you think some people fail and some don’t? Give examples to expound on your answer/s.