There you are, said the fox, to his children. The children looked up. There were three of them. The eldest one yawned. The second one shifted his legs and the third one looked up for a second from the page she was reading. The fox was visibly irritated. Children of this generation were certainly not respectful, he thought. He remembered his childhood days when he would not sit with his parents and only knew how to obey them. Nowadays, kids had a ready retort to whatever the parent said.
He looked at his wife sadly and she returned his look with a look of despair. She was also helpless. Were they becoming too old or was it the generation gap? He told his children to help him repair the fence. The elephants had ruined it yet again. The children replied that they had important work to do and would help him later. One of them even suggested hiring a helper. The fox went out and set out to repair the fence by himself. His wife came out with the toolbox and he thanked her.
The lion passed by and offered to help. The fox and the lion agreed that the present generation needed some lessons in respecting elders. The fence was repaired and each went their way.
The fox sat down to have his dinner. The children were not invited. The wife had tried Chinese and the smell was too tempting. The children looked at each other. They hung their heads in shame and dare not approach their mother who was, in fact, more stern than their father. They went outside and talked. All of them agreed to do a chore and then eat dinner, if the parents had by then forgiven them, of course.
The eldest one cut firewood for the next day and piled it up neatly. The second son swept the courtyard and cleaned the place. The daughter washed the clothes and hung it neatly on the clotheslines. The parents observed them silently from inside, through the window. They had not begun their dinner.
The children were asked to wash and come for dinner. All of them sat together and enjoyed the dinner. The parents had not spoken a word of reprimand in the above story. The children came to understand their disapproval by their actions.
Disciplining children requires great patience. Positive outcomes will not be got by harming the children, physically. Also, never reprimand the children before others as they will feel insulted and it could lead to grudges. Words can indeed do great harm.
Parenting is a great responsibility indeed and care should be taken, to mold the children to become fine adults who will be good to society.
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