Iron Man Never Forgets

     My most unforgettable memory with my doctor was not those times when he injected me several times at the buttock with my pants down in the presence of other kids. No, it was those times when I sat at the corner looking at a poster hanging on the wall. It was a poem by Dorothy Law Nolte . Until now I could still remember the colors, texture, the embossed texts, the picture, the Iron Man I was holding, the smell of the clinic and whole ambiance. This is a poem that even Iron Man should have in his lab...

Children Learn What They Live

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.

If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with fairness, they learn justice.

If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

     This poem has gone several evolutions and was translated in more than 35 languages. I am thinking, if only parents could live by this, what a beautiful world we have for everyone...





Excerpted from the book CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

©1998 by Dorothy Law Nolte and Rachel Harris

The poem "Children Learn What They Live"

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Picture source: Credit