3 Things to Teach Kids that Make the World a Better Place

Helping othersby willian_2000 | Pixabay

Here are three helpful reminders of things we can teach our children while they are young so that when they grow up, they'll better understand how they fit into society. When people grow up feeling important, like they have a sense of purpose, then they have a greater sense of belonging. This can help your children to have a more grounded sense of identity as they navigate the world around them and look for ways that their own lives are valuable.

Teach Boundaries: Both Setting Them and Honoring them in Others

One reason our society has gone off the rails, so to speak, is that our children grow up not understanding how to respect boundaries.

• This is my body, not yours.
• This is a fence. Do not cross without permission.
• This belongs to me; you cannot just take it.
• This is the earth — you cannot simply trample it with your activities.
• This is a rule, in place for your protection and for things to run smoothly — how about following it while you are here?

Interactions need not be about power; we can work together to make something happen. Too early on, we teach or permit our children to trample the boundaries of others. We fail to teach them about healthy boundaries for themselves and about self-control; which is crucial for adults to move about in society without hurting others, common property, and spaces, or the environment around them.

Teach Children to Respect the World They Live In

As an educated environmental scientist, I had to study ecology, in-depth, and often these studies included the study of the human animal. I can’t say they were any more or less enjoyable to me than studying the animal ecosystems and survival strategies, but certainly the human free-spirited and emotionally driven, complex thought processes brought a myriad of parameters to the table.

Humans, in short, are unpredictable.

But, one thing I learned is that what we value and teach to our children has an impact on our society. Beginning with the basic value of human life, and all life. I have often said as an environmental scientist and writer, that we do not save that which we do not care about. This, most fundamentally, includes the environment in which we live.

Boy and goatby Sasin Tipchai | Pixabay

Teach Your Children to Leave Spaces Better

There’s a concept in Girl Scouting that I have always appreciated about the organization.

“A Girl Scout always leaves a place better than she found it.” — Girl Scouts

As an adult, I have more respect for this concept, though as a Girl Scout I often thought it was a way to get girls to behave with more servitude. Yes, it teaches a service mindset, but it also teaches girls to pay attention to their environment. Not simply to try to reduce their own footprint (negative impact on the environment), but to also look for ways to improve the spaces they move around in, whether personal spaces in their home or public spaces they share with their community.

Sometimes those acts are simple, but we should teach all children that even small acts of kindness and care are important: picking up behind oneself, cleaning up a space, turning off a faucet that someone else left running, or putting out a dish of water for a thirsty animal.

When people enter a space and look for ways they can improve it, we all benefit from this generous and caregiving attitude. It is really hard to feel both this responsibility to leave the world a better place and look for ways to cause destruction. I believe teaching this to all our children will encourage them to care for the world around them and to be aware of their own impact, both good and bad, in their community.

One last point...Do Not Ever Litter in Front of Your Children

One of the most destructive things we do to our children is littering the world around us right in front of them. Think of the complete disregard this teaches our children for nature, for others that come behind us to share the same spaces, and for the ecological makeup of our world.

We toss something on the ground or display improper disposal of garbage and then go on about our daily lives with this “it doesn’t affect me” mindset. What is this teaching our kids about selfish behaviors and self-serving decisions? What, I ask, can we do better in this regard to make sure our children make responsible choices — because it is the right thing to do? If one can be taught to care about social and environmental responsibility, then one will be less inclined to harm others or act destructively with one’s behavior.

These are not complicated things to teach; boundaries, respect, care for the environment and others. But id does require a level of mindfulness and purposeful intent. This article isn't meant to preach at you--but to remind you of the things that the busyness of life can sweep away from us if we aren't mindful. Blessings to you and your families.

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For further reading:

The Real Deal on Gaslighting
It’s Not Your Job to Fix Broken People
5 Signs Your Relationship is Fizzling Out
5 Reasons Why You Are Taking the Blame

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