The concept of “respect adults” comes from a time when the most successful life experiences of the older generation were to be obeyed by young people. Since time immemorial, parents have repeated this phrase to their children. In some lands, the law provides for such respect for the elderly.
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Imitation of honor encourages this idea.
( Image)Psychologists say that if you want to teach your child to respect others, you must treat them the same way. When parents insist on respecting their children automatically without setting a proper example, this causes the child to become intimidated. They will act respectfully because they do not doubt their parents’ opinion: “If Mom said that, this would be true.” Later, when they grow up, they will not analyze other people’s behavior or decide whether they deserve respect.
It makes children ignore the danger.
Believing that you should “respect your elders” can cause children to ignore the “do not talk to strangers” rule. The age gap between our adults and us still exists today, so we grow into adults with these learned behaviors. As adults, people older than us tend to question when it is essential. It is our right, and everyone needs to question what anyone tells us, even if they are older than us.
It forces the younger generation to adopt old-school behaviors.
Although there is a link between age and experience with learning and growing from one’s mistakes, this knowledge is opportunistic. One’s life lessons shape the advice they share with others. Lessons and advice show that our adults need to motivate young people to grow. However, judgments are usually aimed at embarrassing young people and forcing previous generations to cling to outdated behaviors.
It can give them false priorities.
Specially, all people should be loved and treated with respect. We may want to teach children who are respected and disliked. Psychologists advise you to understand who should get your respect, not from the bottom of the ladder. We need to respect the person who helps us or makes our lives better, not necessarily about age.
Asking for respect diminishes a child’s dignity.
If we ask children for respect by default, we want to be superior and reduce their value. One mother, on her blog, said she never asked for respect by default and would not allow this high tone with her husband or friend, but she did ask for respect from her child. She realized that honor is not a hierarchy and that no single person deserves more respect than others.
Let us know your opinions about the term “respect elders.”