Our behaviour = Their behaviour

Nowadays we will hear from most parents or older generations commented that "children nowadays are so difficult to teach". Is it the fault of our society or the exposure they are getting from their everyday lives? One of the things I can't tolerate from children is disrespectful behaviour. Of course, no children in the world are 100% perfect in their upbringing, likewise so do my children! We tend to behave differently under different circumstances & children tend to pick up the bad behaviour faster from us. We can't control where they pick up those bad habits (from schools / media / or just from adults around them), but we should always try to correct them as & when it is necessary & explain to them the consequences after that.

Life is always just so contradicting & unfair. People who are smart & intelligent do not mean that they possess the good manner to respect & get along well with other people. While those people who are just average or below average in their achievement are able to understand & more compassionate about other people's feeling.

When my kids try to behave by being disrespectful to us at home, of course my 1st reaction is to tell them not to do it. Smacking will naturally comes after that if their bad behaviours continues. Of course they will cry, I will try to explain the reason for smacking them after their crying subside. Usually I will tell them to show respect to people if they expect the same thing back from other people.

In our everyday lives, I always try to lead by example in front of the kids so that they will learn & respect us in future. I guess it is one of the very important lesson for them to learn in order to become a better person as well as to survive in the reality world in future. In time to come, I have to let them understand that that being "respectful" is not just an act to show people but must come sincerely from their heart to do it.