By Daisha Goines, Intensive Care Coordinator
What comes to your mind when you hear the word respect? I know I immediately think of Aretha Franklin’s famous song lyric, “R.E.S.P.E.C.T. find out what it means to me.” While this is a popular song, it does bring up a very valid point: respect can be a complicated word to define as it looks different for everyone.
When it comes to respect, it can be challenging, frustrating, and difficult when you are in a space or situation where you feel like you are not being respected. However, the truth about respect is it’s hard to respect others when you feel like you are not being heard, considered, or being treated fairly.
This means a key component to receiving respect is making sure you are giving respect to others. Navigating this as a family can be challenging due to differences in values, thoughts, opinions, age, lived experience, and rules or boundaries that are put into place. But don’t worry, where there is a will, there is a way! Below is a family activity to help meet the respect needs of each individual family member.
Activity: As a family, set aside some time to explore “respect.” For this activity you will need one big piece of paper and markers. On the paper, separate it into four sections and give everyone a marker to write the answer to the following questions.
- In the first section you will define “what is respect?” This way everyone can start off with a basic explanation of what respect is to them.
- The second section is “how can others show respect to you?” This creates the opportunity for everyone to express what they need to feel respected.
- The third section will then be labeled “how can you show respect to others?” Inviting a chance for reflection on how to begin to show respect to others.
- The last section is “how will you show respect this week?” Which sets up a chart that everyone can use to be mindful of specific opportunities to show respect to others.
Throughout the week you could then revisit the four sections of the paper. Have a conversation around if everyone was able to show the respect they said they would show throughout the week. This activity is designed to be a reflective one. It’s an opportunity to notice feeling respected and practicing respect. After the initial week, the information on the paper can be adjusted to implement new ways to show respect ongoing throughout the weeks. With time and practice, respect will mutually occur between the entire family.