We often talk about children having respect for their elders and respecting their parents but surely it works both ways. Don’t parents have to respect the decisions that their children make? Shouldn’t parents treat their children in the way they want to be treated? And what about trust? Surely parents have to trust that what their children are telling them is honest, reliable, truthful or trust them without their children telling them everything that is going on with their life. Respect and Trust are important in any parent child relationship.
Respect And Trust Go Both Ways
I think that trust and respect has to work both ways but often it can be one sided. In other words, the parents do not trust or give their children the respect they deserve and when parents do not trust their children it can lead to them not telling their parents anything and communication is not as effective as it could be. This can lead to miscommunication between child and parent and a lack of understanding about why the child wants to do something or why they are behaving in a certain way.
The best thing parents can do is trust and respect children a little bit more so that they open up to them and share what they are doing and give them reasons why they are doing that thing. It is important that children are communicating well with their parents too. If they don’t want to do something they need to give a reason why. Children often only give half a story. For example, they may tell you they are going to a friends house but won’t say how long they are going for or what they are going to do there. Isn’t it best they tell you so that you can trust them? If they are untruthful, it will be harder for their parents to trust them – talk to them about this and help them to understand that respect and trust goes two ways.
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