Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.
I remember when I was a young child, my mother had a wooden scroll (you know the kind they used to print calendars on back in the day) in our kitchen of this poem that Dorothy Law Nolte originally wrote back in the mid-fifties. Those words stuck with me, and it is no coincidence that I have a small copy of the same poem on my refrigerator door and it has been there since I had my son who is now 5 years old. I just keep reading the poem (and now this book) whenever I have doubts about my parenting skills or a spur-of-the-moment decision that I have made as a parent. I don't know if it is psychological, but I've found that it seems to "keep me on task", so to speak, with my ultimate agenda to raise a morally-conscious young man. So many parents get caught up in the day to day responsibilities of raising a child, such as feeding, bathing, clothing, sheltering, etc. that a lot of the actual "emotional raising of a person" gets lost. I've found that this book is a good "how-to guide" for any parent who is interested in helping to develop the moral compass and emotional well-being of their children. If you are a parent, i recommend that you get a copy of this book today, or better yet, you can download a copy of the poem on the internet, and apply it to the everyday teachings of your children!