Teach Your Children

Day 234: Teach Your Child a Profession

Many parents love to spoil their children. While it is most certainly not a bad thing for a parent to love their child, if the parent does everything for the child, they will never learn how to do it themselves. This is also true in terms of work.

A parent is required not only to teach their children Torah but also to teach their children to be able to be self-sufficient. Children who do not learn how to be self-sufficient might look for dishonest or illegal ways to become independent and stable such a thievery.

I was trying to figure out how this relates to me and I was thinking about my family. My mom's family used to own a shoe store. When she could, she began working in the store selling shoes and assisting customers. This seemed cool to me, but then I extended it further.

By sending me to college, my parents are teaching me a profession...or at least paying tuition in order for me to learn a profession from someone else. I think that's really cool! It's very personal; something that lots and lots of people in the world can relate to.

Day 235: Teach Your Child That What Matters Most to God Is Goodness

I feel like my parents raised me to be a good person: they taught me not to lie, cheat, steal, they taught me to share, work hard and try my best, and be a good friend. These are basic human ethics, things we learned in kindergarten. Shouldn't we remember that it is these actions that matter to God?

It's nice to be talented or to be a jack of all trades, but it is not our talents that showcase our essence, it is our actions.