Author: Jason

Teaching Young Children the Importance of Respect

Posted on | by Jason

It goes without saying that respect is one of the most fundamental traits required to be successful both professionally and personally. Schools make it a point to teach respect for authority during a child’s most formative years, but the real education truly begins at home, with the parents themselves. Respect is a quality that can often be difficult to measure, and as such, difficult to teach. However, with careful attention, observation, and re-enforcement, parents can develop this key trait in their children quite seamlessly. Children learn the importance of respect at school and at home, and in group activities like pre-school karate classes.

Respect for people and things

Respect comes in a wide variety of forms. For example, children must be taught to be behave with respect for the possessions of other children. They must be taught a healthy respect for their elders and authorities. As a family, it is of paramount importance to develop a culture of mutual respect within the home itself. There are a number of great strategies that parents use at home for this purpose.

Perhaps the most effective way parents teach their children to behave respectfully is by being respectful themselves. Children typically mimic their parents’ behavior – good or bad, so being a role model and showing integrity, courtesy, and respect in their company are very powerful lessons. Whether it is simply being polite to strangers or being thoughtful and considerate of friends and family, with proper and consistent role models, most children gradually learn to deal with the people and environment around them in healthy, productive, and amicable ways.

Reinforcing respect

When a child displays respect, it is important for parents to acknowledge and commend him or her. Receiving praise and feeling gratified for performing a task correctly or behaving in the appropriate manner helps children of all ages develop self-esteem and self-respect, benefits they will seek to earn over and over. Highlighting appropriate behavior and good manners helps children internalize them. In some cases, a display of respect may even warrant a reward in some material form.

In some cases, it may be required to reprimand a child for inappropriate behavior. Choosing when to punish and when not to is extremely important for parents. Parents must understand that different children learn in different ways, and this may take time as well. Understanding how a child thinks and behaves is the first step toward choosing the specific ways and means of developing this fundamental and vital character trait.


Why it Is Important to Teach Manners at the Youngest of Ages

Posted on | by Jason

We have all heard and said simple phrases like “thank you” or “please” hundreds of times in our lives. Parents ensure that their children say these phrases at appropriate times to instill the habit, making courtesy a a natural approach and response. While kind language shows ‘good manners’ in people, few actually question what the use of ‘good manners’ actually do. The truth is that these words are not ‘empty phrases’ we use in social interaction. The actual worth of speech and behavior that exhibit proper manners is much greater.

Manners Teach Respect

At the root of courteous speech lives a sense of respect, comprehension of the ‘golden rule’. Making a habit of saying and doing polite things that show humility and gratitude naturally helps build respect for and from the people around you – and for yourself as well. Basic respect begins with acknowledging and accepting differences between people and knowing yourself as part of a community. A deeper understanding of respect is needed for maximum benefit, but the concept can be quite difficult to isolate and teach. Some lessons can be taught very well to small groups in the classroom or training facility, but genuine respect is something that each child ultimately learns through his or her experiences.

A well-mannered child, adolescent, or teen automatically implies a good upbringing – a person raised with the blessing of caring, respectable parents, perhaps a person who is trustworthy. But the benefits of good manners actually go far beyond that. Developing good manners in a child can go a long way toward ensuring a secure future for them. Good manners can make or break an opportunity, whether in their educational and career pursuits or important interpersonal relationships throughout their lives. Manners help formulate a positive outlook in children and adults that is often admired and reciprocated.

Manners and Society

While manners are certainly important to a child, a well-mannered child can have a significant impact on the reputation of the parents and family as well. Whether we like it or not, building a good reputation among your co-workers, peer groups, and society in general is vital to enjoying a healthy lifestyle with economic and social growth.

At the end of the day, all parents have a duty to educate their children on the importance and value of courtesy. For a child to begin to learn the value of good manners, he or she has to understand ‘why’ he or she is being instructed and reminded to say and do the mannerly things. Courtesy and discipline are often practiced in age-appropriate karate classes, which many parents find helps instill this valuable trait, behavior, and outlook in their children. Raising well-
mannered children helps them to become successful, honorable, and valued members of society in the future.

Life Skills that Prepare a Child for Being in School

Posted on | by Jason

The earliest years of a child’s upbringing can be the most important in many ways. Professionals who teach pre-school are always keeping an eye out to see whether children are developing mentally, physically, and socially. A variety of important life skills and character traits – fostered at an early age – will serve them well as they grow and face the rigors of education, work, and life in general. These skills relate to all facets of a child’s development from the cognitive base to the emotional. Parents and pre-school teachers have a duty to ensure that children gradually develop a sense of independence that enables them comprehend, adapt, and function at a high level.

In many cases, development of these life skills happens quite naturally, particularly when consistently monitored and encouraged or corrected. To an adult, these skills and traits might seem mundane or trivial, but incremental development of them can have a profoundly positive impact on their futures.

What Skills To Build

Even ordinary tasks as simple as putting one’s clean clothes away carefully or washing their hands before eating a meal are hugely important. In some sense, these are the first steps that a child takes in educating himself or herself regarding concepts like organization, self-reliance, and hygiene. Pre-school children between the ages of three and five are usually not ready to study or work, but can readily learn these skills through structured interactive play and positive reinforcement.

How to Maximize Life Skill Building

In order to master these skills, children will not only need to observe adults doing them but also gain experience performing particular tasks themselves. Certain skills will come quicker than others, especially because no single child is the same as another. As such, pre-school teachers and parents should pay careful attention to which skills are being developed properly and which still require practice. In some cases, a child may need extra help in order to fully understand and learn certain skills. In addition to pre-school, toddlers participating in structured group activities such as pre-school karate frequently learn from an age-appropriate curriculum specifically designed to build life skills in addition to physical and mental skills.

Perhaps one of the most important life skills that must be presented to pre-school children is the ability to interact properly and cooperate with other children as well as adult authority figures. While independence is certainly important, building the social skills of a child begins at the youngest of ages. Social skills and cooperation can sometimes be difficult to measure, and more
often than not require intensive observation on the part of the pre-school teacher or parent. In order to fully allow a child to develop such skills, it is important for pre-school teachers and parents to clearly define their expectations of a child and put into place measures that maximize the capacity for a child to learn and adopt them.

Karate Can Help Build a Kid’s Self-Esteem

Posted on | by Jason

Karate is an ancient martial arts style that was developed in the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. It grew into one of the most popular forms of martial arts worldwide several decades ago and still continues to be a favorite, especially with children. Along with teaching your kid self-defense and performance skills, it can help build your child’s self-esteem in the early formative years.

Karate and self-esteem

Self-esteem is the idea or “picture” we have of ourselves – who we are, what we’re capable of, and what we can be. It is built over time as we get to know ourselves through experience and feedback. It needs to be nurtured from a very young age for a kid to be able to grow into an adult who believes in himself or herself. Parents should take steps to ensure their children develop a positive self-image and self-respect. One of the most fun and effective ways to help children – even pre-schoolers – to develop a healthy level of self-esteem is through challenge and achievement in a structured physical and mental activity such as martial arts.

Karate has levels or ranks represented by belts of various colors and other uniform insignia. Each rank typically has a number of moves that must be learned to proceed to the next level. Forms (movement patterns) challenge students to memorize a sequence of techniques, targets, and direction changes at each rank. Free sparring or controlled combat against similarly-sized training partners (as well as seniors and teachers) helps students to fine-tune motor skills, reflexes, and strategic thinking.

This process of learning, practicing, competing with, and showcasing karate skills – starting at an early age – can have a tremendously positive effect on the self-esteem of practitioners.

  • Testing and advancing through ranks can be a memorable, confidence-boosting ‘personal victory’.
  • Praise and attention from instructors helps them feel good about themselves and their abilities to learn and achieve.
  • Not advancing in rank following an unsatisfactory testing performance (i.e. receiving a “no change”) encourages children to try harder and work to reach goals.
  • Scoring points or winning a free sparring bout gives students a sense of security and self- protection.
  • A properly executed form reinforces the self-esteem gained from incremental learning.

All this eventually leads to a better self-image and a positive attitude that endures throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood.

Other benefits of karate for pre-schoolers and older kids


Besides helping build self-esteem and self-defense skills, karate can help nurture “tiny tots” in a number of other ways to help them become healthy, self-reliant, and responsible young people. Martial arts practitioners are known to improve these traits and others:

  • Discipline
  • Confidence
  • Physical fitness
  • Teamwork
  • Listening
  • Respect

Despite the popular misconception and hype portrayed in popular cinema, the martial arts are not strictly about violence. In fact, most martial artists learn to restrain their tempers and refrain from unleashing their powerful physical skills. Rather, martial arts offer a treasure trove of life lessons and tangible benefits for most students that reach far beyond the training facility to improve the lives of those who train and the lives of those around them.