I've always taught my children to respect their elders. I also needed to teach them to speak up for themselves.

The author (top right) said she is rethinking how she teaches her kids to respect their elders. Courtesy of Sana Sheraz. When I was growing up, I thought staying quiet was part of respecting elders and being polite. Now that I have my own kids, I'm starting to see things differently. I want my kids to respectfully speak up when others make them feel a certain way. Growing up, I was taught that respecting elders meant listening without arguing, staying quiet when an adult was speaking, and accepting criticism because the person was older. As a mother, I have always wanted to pass that value on to my children. But recently, I realized there was another part of that lesson I needed to teach them. Their feelings matter, too. I had always thought teaching children to compromise was part of teaching them to be considerate.