OPINION: Time to teach kids how to behave

CHILDREN aren't perfect. They never have been and never will be.

The whole point of being a child is that you learn and grow.

A lot of this is done by making mistakes and needing to be taught the right behaviours.

Yet, it seems more and more people are trying to portray this notion that they have perfect children, because I guess it reflects well on their parenting - that maybe they are perfect parents.

And it seems that these parents can't handle being told when their child is being, well, a child, because they get upset at the littlest things and feel the need to vent online and try and rally support and justification for their outrage.

This week I read a story about a note that came home from a daycare. It was detailing a few concerns the carers had about a nine-month-old baby.

The note said the baby was playing roughly and aggressively with the other children and would smile and enjoy herself after the other babies cried. The letter went on to ask for the parents' help to discourage rough play.

The article I read was a big tirade about how babies at nine months old are not malicious and can not deliberately do these things.

That may be true, but that doesn't mean they are too young to be taught appropriate behaviour. I think if my child was behaving this way, I would want to know about it.

My eldest Master H has always been a gentle boy, but his brother is rough in all senses of the word - he is rough with us, his brother, his toys and himself.

However, we never just let him get away with this, just because that is the way he is.

We won't always be there to protect other kids or animals or him from that behaviour.

We are constantly telling him and showing him what it means to be gentle.

If a stranger had penned that letter, I would be just as upset.

But when it is your child's teachers alerting you to behaviour that needs to be corrected, what is so wrong with that.


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