Lately I have been feeling like I'm one of the few parents who cares about instilling respect in her children.  When I refer to respect, I don't only mean respecting adults and others, I also mean the way that children speak.  More and more I am observing the harsh and inappropriate way that children not only speak to each other but to adults.  This leaves me wondering why they weren't taught that it is not okay to talk to others that way.     Case in point, a few weeks ago my son shared with me that one of his cousins told him to "shut up" and referred to him as an "idiot."  My children are not perfect and they do the things that kids do but, one thing I can say with certainty is that they have been taught not to use those words in their conversations or towards others.  How do I even begin to address that with my sibling or any parent for that matter?  Let's be completely honest, most parents don't respond too well to parenting constructive criticism, myself included.     Now, … [Read more...]