Today someone contacted me with a question I’ve been asked more than any other. I appreciate any question that comes to me directly. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to email me, which happens far less frequently these days. (Maybe because I don’t have any answers.)
The question was: How can I teach my child to ________.
It doesn’t matter how you fill in the blank. Pick one, pick another, I can’t tell you squat about any of them.
a. sleep through the night
b. go in the potty
c. share
d. stop fighting
e. start reading
f. make friends
g. make better friends
h. eat right
i. wear appropriate shoes
j. make better grades
k. not quit
l. respect others
m. lighten up
n. do their work
o. listen
p. focus
q. be quiet
r. be kind
s. love
t. help
u. know right from wrong
v. take responsibility
w. quit bothering me
x. do what I say
y. be who I want
z. meditate
I won’t make light of them; these are big time questions. I don’t have any answers, but I always respond to people who have the courage to ask a stranger for advice. I say, “Just for one teeny, tiny minute, believe that your children are fine. And then take whatever you want to teach them and make sure you do it yourself.” Everything, everywhere, every time begins with you. And the miraculous thing is, it doesn’t end there. It goes on and on forever.
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You might like these:
Teaching children to meditate
8 ways to raise a mindful child
How to raise a Buddhist child
The myth of the teachable moment
Bring your own cookies
The child is not the child
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“Trying to raise a Buddhist mother” is hard enough and just the sort of better point of concentration that KMM is expert at.
Comment by Bill Kirby — January 21, 2015 @ 9:23 am
I don’t know the answer to any of these questions either, but I thank you for your blog and all the questions you have answered or encouraged me to ponder.
Comment by Angela — March 27, 2015 @ 9:08 am