English
EspañolHow do we know if a person is immature, selfish, and dangerous? We must realize if he does not care about acting maliciously or is solely interested in his own satisfaction and is unwilling to take responsibility for the harm he causes others.
Text
“It is also essential to help children and adolescents to realize that misbehaviour has consequences. They need to be encouraged to put themselves in other people’s shoes and to acknowledge the hurt they have caused.” (The Joy of Love, n.268)
Commentary
Attend to minor misbehaviors! We cannot have a narrow, one-way view. Some perspective is needed in order to appreciate the whole context.
Wrong actions – and more so in a child and adolescents – have consequences, and they must be held accountable for them. However, wrong actions also have causes, and not infrequently, those who must be held responsible for them are the parents. If correction is needed, in order to straighten out their behavior, we may have to prune some branches in the child and heal some roots in the parents.
In some cases, children who suffer at home make others suffer at school.
Whoever has worked as a school teacher, as a good teacher, knows how to discover behind so many wrong behaviors, genuine requests for help, for attention. Behind a distracted or aggressive behavior, among others, many family dramas are hidden, many suffering for which the child has no defense and no idea the meaning they may have. I want to mention that not everything is solved by warning children of their bad behavior and punishing them. Sometimes, parents should receive the warning: “Stop what you are doing wrong, for it is affecting your children.”
