Today I want to share a story discussing children learning to be appreciative of their parents support. Parents work hard to take care of their children and their needs. Children aren’t always aware or appreciative of the things their parents do for them. It is important for parents to take care of their children. It is also important for parents to teach kids how to be honorable and thankful to their parents for their hard work and care.
Agung was feeling lazy this morning. He had stayed up late the night before watching television and didn’t feel like getting up early. After his mother reminded him he needed to go to school, Agung woke up, took a bath, and put on his school clothes. Then, Agung went to find his mother. He was hoping to see his father before he left.
"Where is Father? Has he gone to work," Agunh asked.
His mother looked at him with a smile. "He left already very early this morning. He waited for you to wake up. Because you were lazy this morning he left without you.”
Hearing her mother's explanation, Agung was surprised. He didn’t realize his father left without him. As he was preparing to leave for school he stopped to say goodbye to his mother. He found her sweeping the floor to their house. Their small home was four by six meters wide and matched the look and size of the neighboring houses.
"I’m ready to go, Mom" Agung said.
He immediately approached his mother and shook her hand.
"Be careful on the way Agung!" said his mother as they shook hands.
On the walk to school Agung's mind drifted to think of his father. Over the past few months, Agung had started helping his father work to take care of the family. Agung’s father was a scavenger and it was hard work. His father didn’t want him to grow up to be a scavenger and worked hard to pay for him to go to school.
Now that Agung was in the 6th grade of elementary school, his father worried about Agung not passing his national exams because he worked too hard helping him scavenge. Agung had a strong will to work hard and convinced his father to let him help scavenge for goods and materials to support their family.
Agung felt bad for not waking up early to help his father scavenge for goods. Often they found food to feed the family, materials that would make useful tools at home, or materials they could sell to earn money. Because Agung was lazy he couldn’t help his father that day.
Father was proud of Agung for working hard at school and didn’t like seeing Agung scavenging out of fear he wouldn’t be successful. To go to school meant a better life when Agung grew up. Agung was determined to make his father’s hard work worth his efforts and he made good grades by studying hard.
Agung swore he wouldn’t stay up late again and would get up early to help his dad work to support the family. He appreciated Father’s gift of an education and he wanted to repay him by helping him scavenge so he didn’t have to work as hard.
For The Lessons :
Agung realized his behavior was wrong and harmful to his success. By staying up late, Agung became lazy and didn’t want to work. After realizing he should have gone to bed earlier, Agung admitted his mistake and decided to do better in the future.
Agung’s dad wanted a better life for his son so he worked hard scavenging for goods to sell to pay for his child’s education. Agung, by working with his father, knew it was hard work. The boy felt a great appreciation for his father who worked hard to give him the gift of an education.
It’s important for children to learn the consequences of their behaviors and how that effects their success in life. It is also important that children understand how hard their parents work to support their family. Children who understand the work their parents do and their struggles are more appreciative and compassionate towards their parents.