A conversation on TED.com: What are the Top 5 things you can teach/share with a 6 year old?

Carl LIndgren
Brisbane
Australia

Managing Editor / Founder, MAP Magazine

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What are the Top 5 things you can teach/share with a 6 year old?

I am interested in what other fathers/mother do with their kids to help them become kind, caring and humble human beings.

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ROOZBEH DAREGHOLI
- 0
Dec 8 2011: 1) You can do everything you want
2) Failure is not the end
3) Practice more if you are not able to do something
4) Looking for the reason of everything,and accept nothing without any logical reason
5) Love the world that you live in.
Emmanuel Donate
- +3
Dec 8 2011: I would ask her to teach me how to be as innocently happy as she is. Then I'd tell her never to forget what she taught me.
- Amy Peach
  - +1
  Dec 8 2011: This was my first response too :) My six year old teaches me more every day than I could teach her in a lifetime.
Steve C
- +1
Dec 7 2011: Oh, man... I already have it typed-up, but have no kid. Will my answer still count?
- Teach them that they can help others.
- Patience / Boredom. (Give them down-time) This quote comes to mind: "If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things." ~Norman Douglas
- Give them time in the woods.
- "Just be yourself, & let them follow" is one thing I remember from years ago.
- Teach them to talk to strangers; so they know somewhat how to deal with real, actual strangers should they have to.
Tom Mitchell
- 0
Dec 5 2011: 1. Distrust authority.
2. 'Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution.'
3. Humans are animals.
4. There are no gods.
5. Deceit and self-deception are human universals.
Mary M. 50+
- +1
Dec 5 2011: A six year old.....

1. good manners....thank you, please, I'm sorry, excuse me
Like Barney sings: Please and thank you are the magic words

2. Love people more than things: Toys are great, but playing with your friends is better.
Watching tv is ok...but putting on a show for your family and friends with cookies and juice afterwards is a treat.
Video games are all right, but board games where two or more can play are far more interactive and FUN!!

3. Loving ideas and the sharing of ideas.
"Show and tell".....let him see you talk to all kinds of people about all kinds of subjects.
Not just online, but face to face...at the grocery store, library, at the park

4. Appreciation for life...look for teachable moments to point out the wonders of creation/nature
Isn't it great that our ears are not on top of our head, where rain can come in, but on the sides?
How wonderful to see the variety of colors in flowers......and how their scents vary!!

5. Reading is fun....set the example and read to them every day
Poem: I love the library
It's my favorite place to be.
Books and books on every shelf
Books from wall to wall
Big books, little books, fat books, skinny books
If I read, and read, and read, and read,
One day, I'll read them all
My favorite authors for 6 year olds: Robert Munch and Mercer Meyer
Robert Munch's book "Love you Forever" is great reading if you have a little boy.
It is a book your son will read to his son...PLEASE look it up and you'll see what I mean.

Never ever forget this:

"What we are shouts so loudly in our childrens' ear, sometimes they can't hear what we're saying".
Walt Headstrong
- 0
Dec 5 2011: You must learn to share.
Aon Duine
- +1
Dec 5 2011: 1. You are loved.
2. You can.
3. Failure is okay as long as you do your best.
4. Stand up again (after you fall...and you WILL fall).
5. Don't take your pain out on someone else.
Emmanuel Mashandudze
- 0
Dec 4 2011: I think with the kids of today the most important thing is to give them a chance to learn on their own. There is no teaching skills that is better than learning from experience. A TV salesperson will never use the television to its full potential or capacity as compared to the person who buys it. Kids need the freedom to play with things, figure it out and you will see how exceptional those kids will develop human skills. Humans have evolved and technology is trippling the pace of our mind's progress in thinking and doing thing, similarly kids born in this information age should not be narrowed down but what we think they should learn rather they should discover the world around them.
Rosie Forsyth
- 0
Dec 4 2011: I don't have children but I think that some of the most important lessons I learned from my parents are:
1) To question everything. Your kid might already do this and I think however annoying it is as a parent, keep encouraging it. I believe it builds confidence and more creativity. I was encouraged to do this by teaches throughout my education.
2) My mum has always drilled in that respect is the most important thing you can give a person. There are varying views of respect, but it's the pretty cliche treat others as you wish to be treated.
3) I was lucky enough to go to a school with the philosophy of human-centred education and a teacher once gave me advice that has always stuck with me.. Sometimes people need to feel upset. We try and find the fastest solutions for everything but sometimes it is important to sit with emotions and it's equally important to let others do the same. Listening is a great skill, as is just being there next to someone. Teach your child that it is just a good to have someone listen and not bombard you with suggestions but to just acknowledge that sometimes things are hard, but they always get better in time.
Don Wesley 10+
- 0
Dec 4 2011: Problem solving is perhaps the most fun and most valuable
Robin Ma
- 0
Dec 4 2011: 1) Girls DO NOT have cooties! (well, the ones you meet in certain bars do...)
2) Don't bully that kid just because he/she is different, and/or everybody else is doing it
3) It's ok to like something even though everyone else doesn't, that's what makes you who you are
4) A little kindness and compassion can go a long way...
5) The value of hard work. The feeling of finally buying that bicycle or Game Boy with all the allowance you saved.(although money isn't everything)
Khabir Salahadyn
- 0
Dec 4 2011: www.collaboratory.com The Ability Center, It is working well. Check it out!
manuel ruiz-echarri
- 0
Dec 4 2011: speak slowly, tales, smile, eating well, selfsecurity
Orkun Kurt
- 0
Dec 3 2011: To show them how the world is amazing and beautiful with nature and peace ,that makes the kids to think that they have to behave like they are trying to protect these beauties,wonders and relations.kids documentaries or a trip through the forest or to a natural wonder.
Anne ONEILL
- 0
Dec 3 2011: Patience, joy, skepticism, empathy, curiosity.

PATIENCE because it allows us to learn, achieve goals, and success.

JOY because it makes not only ourselves but those around us happy, which allows more creative and productive thinking.

SKEPTICISM to keep us self-protected from the power personal behavior traits of those who may not have our best interests at heart and skepticism lets us discover what is misleading and wrong.

EMPATHY because it is the heart of or evolutionary selves and makes the world a healthier place. Empathy predates our species, we are born with it and is the source of what all religions are trying to do for us.

CURIOSITY is its own kind of empathy because it helps us pay attention to even those matters that initially might leave us bored. It develops discovery and new knowledge for ourselves and the world.
Jorge Contreras
- 0
Dec 3 2011: Equitation is similar to the Art of living its basic rules help us day by day to gain balance physically and metally also help us build our strenght and caracter.
the Horses allow humans to enter them selfs and feel ..we exercise intuition and sencibility ..
Intuition and sencibility are key talents for a successful life.
kaley p
- 0
Dec 3 2011: 1. Respect for others/ empathy
2. Confidence in yourself
3. Try! even if you are wrong sometimes
4. Patience
5. Creativity
Zsófia Forró
- 0
TED Translator

Dec 3 2011: - playing music together - helps increase focus, skill, responsibility and team-play - to be aware of what others are playing and being a part of that
- let them help you with everything they might want to (cooking, washing, cleaning, gardening!) - if they are allowed to, children really like being of help, doing something useful, of value Together With their favourite grown-ups!
- bedtime stories are great, developing the imagination (as opposed to tv) and it's valuable time spent together.
- playing games which connect dances and poems.
- BE a kind, caring and humble human being.

Children will always BE as you ARE, not as you tell them to be. Be the example, because whether you know it or not, you already are. And don't forget to be loving and caring with yourself, because that will be successfully copied by your children as well. :)
Kannan Vardarajan
- +1
Dec 3 2011: Let children be children.....the biggest learning you can give your 6 year old is to develop their creative minds not tainted by our view of things. By listening to every thing they say, by seeing every thing the do, and living with respect, they develop the biggest foundation for learning "open mind".
Radhika Abhyankar
- +1
Dec 2 2011: I am not a parent but these are ones I could think of:
- Expose children to as many different things/experiences/arts as you can. Kids can absorb more than we think and may also find a passion of their life in the process.
- Interact with them as if they were adults. That would build their self respect.
- Avoid exposure to TV and video games as much as possible. Interaction with people is much more important to their development.
Zsófia Németh
- +1
Dec 2 2011: Hello! The top 5 things are to be with him/her (us), tell to him/her (us) every evening a tale, drawing, dancing, listening music, playing chess and all kind of SPORTS, e.g. aquatic, athletic etc.
rachel richards
- 0
Dec 2 2011: Hi! Im a mother of a beautiful daughter, now 18, and a teacher of 180 infants, each year, for over 12 years now. I work with the children in each class in the school and each child is at our school for three years, so I get to know them for three years, rather than just one year and then they go to someone else's class. My job description is different from that of a normal class teacher in that my objectives are to encourage independence and interdependence, philosophy, creativity and metacognition. How I do this is up to me. So i ask the children and then see what they do. I do not 'teach' as such. I question and support and am suitably amazed. Avoid boredom - not be being super frenzied, pacey, noisy, not with lots of electric gadgets. A huge pile of wire, lots of buttons, boxes one day, lengths of guttering and tennis balls another. And enough time to investigate freely with no rush and scurry to get on with the next thing. 20minutes is nothing - a whole morning is more appropriate. And crucially other children to share and collaborate with. If there is enough to do, they get on without falling out. the activities are a vehicle for the social behaviours. Watching how you deal with issues is the key - like everything else they'll copy you. Again, with behaviour/moral issues, ask them, well what do you think we could do? or, out of all the different ways we could deal with this, which do you think would be the most suitable? You are modelling reason and consideration, respect and understanding.
amber Dew
- +2
Dec 2 2011: Children can understand more than we often assume they can, and when they don't understand that is the opportunity to teach. I speak to them as an adult. The way we learn behavior is by watching what is happening directly around us. What I found to be successful: treat the child in the same manner I want the child to treat others.
m keshen
- 0
Dec 2 2011: i guess that i would rather teach/share with a two year old than a six year old. a six year old is already an "old soul".
Emily Ogborne-Hill
- +2
Dec 2 2011: I don't have kids but I think all people (little or big) should be taught these things.
1. Compare yourself to those who have less than you, not more or what you do have will never seem enough.
2. Learning is an adventure (and can solve most of the world's problems)
3. The world is big and loud and colorful and it should be explored.
4. You can learn the most from those who live the most differently to you
5. It is very brave to say "'I was wrong""
6. Everyone is as important as you (and therefore should be treated as you wish to be treated).
- Robin Ma
  - 0
  Dec 4 2011: Uh, first off, girlfriend, I would like to point out that they are six things on your list....
  Secondly, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! What you wrote is incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn, I wish I thought of those...
Oyunchimeg Baljir
- 0
Dec 2 2011: Motivate him to enter school and have a good education
Julio Franco
- 0
Dec 2 2011: #1 - Respect the relatives
#2 - Good feelings
#3- No racism
#4 - How to save the poor people
#5- Follow the previous elements every day
Mikhail Kravchenko
- 0
Dec 2 2011: Not to trust and believe everything.
To think objectively
don't talk to strangers
Do not buy objects carelessly.

do not force a kid to answer questions kids do not understand. They will just be confused and say yes or no depending on what the parent expects. This also depends on the parent if they are authoritative, or authoritarian. I

Don't tell a kid that he is special, unique or super genius. They will eventually find out that this is a cliche phrase and it means nothing, but It also can make a kid overly egocentric and believe he can get by in life easily.

When i was little my parents stated I was a super genius, and i was full of myself. It was only when i grew older that i realized how dumb that phrase is. There are many types of intelligence.

Though its alright to encourage kids today with phrases such as "you are smart." or "keep up the good work."