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By Jabberwocky
#430115
Sagi's post the other day made me think about the whole moral compass things that we do as parents. So anyway I remember getting a told similar to the one following when I was young and it is always a philosophy I try to keep in mind when I deal with my kids.

A young man went to seek an important position at a large printing company. He passed the initial interview and was going to meet the director for the final interview. The director saw his resume, it was excellent.



And asked, “Have you received a scholarship for school?” The boy replied, "No.”

“It was your father who paid for your studies?”

“Yes.” He replied.

“Where does your father work?”

“My father is a Blacksmith”

The Director asked the young to show him his hands.

The young man showed a pair of hands soft and perfect.

“Have you ever helped your parents at their job?”

“Never, my parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, he can do the job better than me.”



The director said, “I have got a request: When you go home today, go and wash the hands of your father and then come see me tomorrow morning.”



The young felt his chance to get the job was high.



When he returned to his house he asked his father if he would allow him to wash their hands. His father felt strange, happy, but with mixed feelings and showed their hands to his son. The young washed his hands, little by little. It was the first time that he noticed his father's hands were wrinkled and they had so many scars. Some bruises were so painful that his skin shuddered when he touched

them.







This was the first time that the young man recognized what it meant for this pair of hands to work every day to be able to pay for his study. The bruises on the hands were the price that he paid for their education, his school activities and his future.



After cleaning his father's hands the young man stood in silence and began to tidy and clean up the workshop. That night, father and son talked for a long time.



The next morning, the young man went to the office of the director.




The Director noticed the tears in the eyes of the young when He asked him, “Can you tell me what you did and what you learned yesterday at your house?”



The boy replied, “I washed my father's hands and when I finished I stayed and cleaned his workshop.”



“Now I know what it is to appreciate and recognize that without my parents I would not be who I am today. By helping my father I now realize how difficult and hard it is to do something on my own. I have come to appreciate the importance and the value in helping the family.”



The director said, "This is what I look for in my people. I want to hire someone who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the hardship of others to do things, and a person who does not put money as his only goal in life".



“You are hired.”



A child that has been coddled, protected and usually given him what he wants, develops a mentality of " I have the right ' and will always put himself first, ignoring the efforts of their parents. If we are this type of protective parent are we really showing love or are we destroying our children?



You can give your child a big house, good food, computer classes, watch on a big screen TV. But when you're washing the floor or painting a wall, please let him experience that too.



After eating, have them wash the dishes with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you have no money to hire someone to do this, it's because you want to love them the right way. No matter how rich you are, you want them to understand. One day your hair will turn grey, like the father of this young man.



The most important thing is that your child learns to appreciate the effort and to experience the difficulties and learn the ability to work with others to get things done."


What do you guys think of in a similar way?
By CookinFlat6
#430118
Touching story. Experience is good, learning from experience cannot be replaced by learning from knowledge. Instead of run behind them to make sure they can be caught when falling over after a while its better to learn to let them fall and coach them in not falling instead

The parable of the blacksmiths hands reminds me of that big question - Do you take young kids into real nature and show them where and how the bacon sandwich arrives? You know this maybe upsetting, but its part of the same concept. Some take their kids hunting to try and show this, yet some shield them for as long as possible.

Personally I dont think it matters, or that the kid needs to see the hands, as long as the parents can let them shape themselves and assist on a 'need to know' basis. So it shouldn't take rough hands to deliver empathy if parents can instill it another way
By Hammer278
#430121
Cool story Jabbs. I agree 100%. Taking my own story for example (credit to my old man, not me), my dad has been well to do since I was in my teens but ever since I started working, he completely cut me off financially and asked me to hold my own head above water. The first two years were a struggle (I stayed in a sh*thole apartment which housed factory workers and druggies and whatnot) and I was in a sales job. Everyday I wake, I jump out of bed in a bid to get myself out of the place by getting to work and making sales...I was working in telesales then. A lot of my spare time was spent in a bookstore in a mall nearby reading up books on investments/properties...this became my hobby when I wasn't hanging with friends. Managed to save every spare cent during the two years and got myself a condo which I then moved into. From there, things got chirpier and I had the luxury to keep reinvesting in myself since I knew the value of a single coin and everything I did, I made sure I did my R&D before going into it.

Safe to say, the 2 years were the best training ground where desperation drove me to learn how to survive. If my dad had assisted me straight out of uni I might be in a different place today, probably still stuck in making ends meet...albeit in a cozier environment.

Who made that quote again....you learn a lot more through failure than you do from success. A US President I believe....fantastic quote. :)
User avatar
By Jabberwocky
#430123
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/390439 ... om-success

It is funny when I think back to my childhood and all the kids that I always thought "wow they get everything they want, go on holiday 3 to 4 times a year etc"

Have achieved very little since leaving school.

As for showing kids where meat comes from. I think they should know. However if they connect chicken is chicken is a different matter.
User avatar
By racechick
#430132
Great stories. These stories mirror how I try to teach children. Always show them the reason for things, don't shield them from the less pleasant aspects of life and always answer their questions as honestly as you can.
If the child has asked the question, he needs the answer, it can be toned down but it should be honest.
We've done drama sessions discussing things like farming, with five year olds. We had ( an adult ) in role as a pig farmer, and some other adults in role as protesters with placards ' save the pigs' . The level of discussion that came out of this by the children was amazing, puts a lot of adults to shame.

I think children who have been to private schools are often cocooned, controlled and spoonfed. It ill equips many of them to cope with the real world, with university where they are no longer spoon fed and with people from different walks of life.
User avatar
By racechick
#430135
What about children in boarding school?


Doesn't really bare thinking about. They are institutionalised from an early age and miss out on so much that only a family can give. I can think of nothing worse than sending a child away and allowing someone else to mould their values and give them their memories and their dreams.
By What's Burning?
#430136
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I think the value come from instilling a recognition of hard work being an essential component in the success of one's endeavors. Another essential component is who's definition of success one chooses as their measure. I believe it's unfair to judge a kid high on the arrogance of youth, eventually time and life will reveal to them where they went wrong. Hopefully they'll understand it all in time to make a good run at the rest of their lives.
By CookinFlat6
#430138
What about children in boarding school?


Doesn't really bare thinking about. They are institutionalised from an early age and miss out on so much that only a family can give. I can think of nothing worse than sending a child away and allowing someone else to mould their values and give them their memories and their dreams.


Having said that, there are other benefits of going to a boarding school early - learning how to be independent of the parents to an extent, learning how to operate within institutions, and a confidence with dealing with authority. Lets face it, they are still shaped by the parents at home, but the boarding aspect sometimes fills in stuff parents cant

And ofcourse if one ends up in prison or in the army then they will be well prepared :hehe:

Having said that going to board at the age of 7 can screw up certain personality types, 11 is a much more civilised age and then maybe weekly boarding only - comprehensive for primary then weekly boarding for secondary is a good balance I think.
User avatar
By racechick
#430142
What about children in boarding school?


Doesn't really bare thinking about. They are institutionalised from an early age and miss out on so much that only a family can give. I can think of nothing worse than sending a child away and allowing someone else to mould their values and give them their memories and their dreams.


Having said that, there are other benefits of going to a boarding school early - learning how to be independent of the parents to an extent, learning how to operate within institutions, and a confidence with dealing with authority. Lets face it, they are still shaped by the parents at home, but the boarding aspect sometimes fills in stuff parents cant

And ofcourse if one ends up in prison or in the army then they will be well prepared :hehe:

Having said that going to board at the age of 7 can screw up certain personality types, 11 is a much more civilised age and then maybe weekly boarding only - comprehensive for primary then weekly boarding for secondary is a good balance I think.

Can't agree with boarding from the age of 11. But each to his own.
By CookinFlat6
#430144
Only 5 nights a week though, they get to spend all their time with their friends anyway :hehe:
User avatar
By sagi58
#430164
Great story, Jabber!! And, great idea for a thread!

Working hard is not part of our DNA, thus, as parents, we need to instill a work ethic at an early age. Things like getting to school/appointments on time, finishing what you start, treating others as you want to be treated, playing fair, being a good sport, sharing.

I'm sure most parents would agree that these are all important, the disagreements start with deciding how to do that best. For example, some parents believe giving a child an allowance for doing specific chores around the house is not necessary, because children should pitch in around the house "just because"! Some may even see the allowance as a bribe of sorts; however, there are those who would suggest that it's an incentive, since it's rare that any one of us works for free. A difference of perspective.

Another example can be seen in any team sport, for which parents enrol their children for various benefits, starting with keeping physically active to learning how to co-operate with peers and from being involved in team sports to understanding that life is about rules/regulations. Unfortunately, this is also a situation where parents become so completely involved in their child's ability/performance (especially in advanced levels) that they take constructive criticism from coaches to heart. Some parents may even be subconsciously living their own dreams vicariously through their children and can become unreasonable during games/sporting events.

Parenting is probably one of the few things you won't ever get complete consensus on.
And, we haven't even touched on cultural differences in child-rearing practices!
User avatar
By sagi58
#430165
What about children in boarding school?


Doesn't really bare thinking about. They are institutionalised from an early age and miss out on so much that only a family can give. I can think of nothing worse than sending a child away and allowing someone else to mould their values and give them their memories and their dreams.

I'm on the same page, RC!! The thought of not being part of a child's life,
especially their early years, just doesn't bear thinking about. Sure, there
are situations where that may be necessary; but, personally speaking, I do
not know of anything that you can substitute for time spent with a child!
By CookinFlat6
#430225
Probably best to notget them any presents at all and say santa thinks they werent well behaved enough thru the year.

You save some money, get the little critters working twice as hard the next year and they dont tell all their friends cos they are too embarrassed :hehe:

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