Treat them the way you want them to treat others - It's easy to be nice when the kids are nice. The kids need to see how people (you) can be patient and kind when life isn't going smoothly. They need to see how to work with someone whose view is different. They will get to see that by how you treat them when their view is different from yours. If you treat their needs and feelings as less important, they'll learn to treat other's needs and feelings as less important. And then when you're old and bedridden, they'll say, "No, you don't need more tea, no, you don't need to finish that TV program. I have other things to do than tending to your needs. Can't you see how busy I am?"
—Joyce Fetteroll
SandraDodd.com/happychildhood
photo by Erika Andromeda, of a patient child and his well-loved Great Grannny
This post really struck a nerve. A couple of years ago, an elderly family member was dying (literally, right that day...or maybe the day after) and I saw how other family members dealt with it. It was my unschooled teens who were the most patient with her, going back and forth to the kitchen for a sip of milk, a sip of juice, a sip of water. Because it might have been the last one and they saw it as important. The adults in the room weren't nearly as caring.
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