“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:12 NKJV
Children can learn a great deal through play. Preschoolers, especially, can be greatly influenced this way. When two of my grandsons were preschoolers, we would play birthday party with their stuffed animals. We used their stuffed animals as persons to invite to a birthday party. We talked about how their needs varied.
We discussed where the party was to be held and then discussed the needs of each animal. For instance, their stuffed dogs needed to eat from flat containers while some of the other animals needed tall containers to sink their beaks into. It would be rude to expect a bird with a long beak to eat from a flat dish. Also, it would not be nice to expect a dog to eat from a tall vase! As this is discussed with the children, they learn the importance of considering the needs of others. As the needs of each kind of stuffed animal is discussed, children learn to think of others and not just themselves.
Another learning from this play is that each child learns to think ahead. Children learn to prepare and can even discuss cleaning up after the party. The learning is endless! If the adult uses imagination, children can learn good manners, thinking ahead, and how to plan and prepare. Some parents may think that this takes too much time, but grandparents may welcome the idea to provide quality time with the children.
Another way to teach children to think of others is to require them to write a thank you note when things are given to them. Many communities give free school supplies to children for the coming school year. Many times the children come to expect these without realizing that someone is paying for them. I believe children should be required to write thank you notes to the people who give them the items. When we continually give things to children without requiring them to write a thank you note, aren’t we teaching them not to be thankful? Isn’t that one reason we have so many in our society who seem to expect everything be given to them for free? It doesn’t take long to write a note, and not only does it teach children to be thankful, but helps them realize that someone is giving of self to help them. It may become an inspiration for the children to give to someone else. It isn’t inspiring to give to people who don’t appreciate what is given.
If we stay alert, there is much that can be learned through play. In fact, learning through play is one of the most effective ways to teach. All children like to play and use their imagination to embellish what is happening. Why not use this technique to teach children the fundamental good manners of saying “thank you”and helping them understand that really nothing is totally free. Someone has to do something to obtain it.