By taking advantage of opportunities at home, children can learn the importance of showing sincere appreciation and honor to others.
- Ask your family members who they really admire and why, focusing on the character qualities or skills this person has. Next, invite this special person (grandparent, aunt, etc.) over to dinner. Honor your guest, sharing specific attributes and examples that your family admires in them. The motive is to show honor and learn from them. Role play ahead of time, before guests arrive, ways to show honor by sincerely complimenting.
- Role model showing honor to your children by showing your teachable heart, giving attention by noticing the strengths of others, and encouraging freedom in complimenting. Include your children in the process of honoring others–it will make a lifelong impact on your children.
- It’s important for children to learn to honor their commitments. It helps them to be more responsible and to become trustworthy people. In the beginning, adults and parents do everything for the children. We pack their backpacks, sort their clothes, and organize their school supplies. Eventually, they reach elementary school, and with that, they begin to assume more responsibilities. Teaching children to honor their commitments is essential for them to learn new skills and begin to insert themselves into life in society. There are different ways we can teach children to honor their commitments. Involving children in household chores is a way of exercising responsibility.
- Be a role model. This is a simple but key measure. At an early age, adults are the main references for children. Therefore, we must display those behaviors that we want them to repeat. For example, if they constantly see us making excuses about our lateness or about some issue, they’ll believe it’s the right thing to do and they’ll replicate it.
- Recognize their effort and achievements. Just as it’s important to call attention when children don’t fulfill their commitments, it’s also important to do so when they do honor them. Therefore, it’s good to congratulate them for their achievements and acknowledge their efforts in the same way that you point out their mistakes. Congratulating your child for their efforts and achievements is important to reinforce their self-esteem and to show them that you value their work. It also allows them to feel useful and valuable, thus reinforcing their self-esteem.