WHY SEVEN YEARS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Militaru Nicoleta Marilena

Liceul de Arte Ionel Perlea, Slobozia, Ialomita

We have all been raised by our parents to say hello, good morning, good bye,
thank you, please or youre welcome in order to show that we are educated children and
later on, educated teenagers. I remember that people were very impressed by my saying these
words to them in different circumstances and I notice it has not changed that much as my
children get kind looks and words whenever they say them, too. So, why is it important to show
that you are well-behaved? Is a well-behaved teenager or adult better seen by the members of
their community? Can we make a real difference by using these simple words?

A good education starts within the family circle as this is where the child first observes
human nature and behaviour and this is also where he sees the first models of speaking and
behaving both in the private life and the public one. Being part of a nuclear or extended family, a
child gets exposed to a lot of situation. There are those wonderful cases in which the family
members understand that they play an important part in the shaping of the childs behaviour and
they act accordingly- they choose their words wisely and they are polite and well-mannered in
given situation. Thus, the child can only learn how to behave appropriately and how to speak
with the people they meet. But, of course, there are also the cases in which a lot of adults tend to
forget their role and their status as models for the offspring of the family and they use a lot of
bad language and they swear a lot, they are very noisy in public and they also forget about the
simple politeness rules. Unfortunately, these children get to see the wrong part of life and they do
not know that this is not rightthey see is as being normal and thus take it as an example later
on. There are numerous cases of children who use bad words addressed to their colleagues when
they enter school or who are very aggressive towards their peers. You often hear their teachers
say that they are missing those seven years from homethey lack exactly the first most
important tools in order to become well-integrated members of their small community.

When people hear the word education, they immediately think of schools and teachers
and what they do in order to educate the children. But how many people think of the first steps in
educating a child? How many realize the importance of being well-spoken and well-behaved
which are taught at home in the first years of a childs life? There is an old saying charity begins
at home and I would consider changing one word and make a new one education begins at
home. I know I am not neither revolutionizing the concept nor be the first to think about it but I
know that we need more and more young parents to understand how important it is for them to
do their job well, for them to educate their children in a right manner and to offer them the
correct basis for a good beginning in life. There are a lot of people who understand the
importance of these seven years and they state that without a good start, a child does not stand
easy chances of being well-integrated in a play group, in a school group, in a work group and
later on in the community and society itself.

Most children imitate adults and they do what they see at home and they say what they
hear at home. They are surrounded by models that shape their personalities and these models
should be active participants in the young childs life. Adults complain that children do no learn
about health and hygiene at school, that they do not learn about circulation and traffic rules or
that they do not learn about money or who knows what other topics. But my question is simple-
what do parents teach them? Arent they supposed to give them the first concepts of life? Arent
they the ones who help them in their first steps? Parents have their first school lessons at home-
they should teach their children to be polite and respect the others, they should be the ones to
correct bad language and attitude and they should be the first to congratulate their children for
achieving them. Be the ones who educate future generations right and be the ones who
understand that education really begins in our homes and that the children are little mirrors of
you. Our future generations need to be more evolved and more capable of doing wonderful
things and they will be successful only if they are provided with good education and if they are
surrounded by responsible adults.