I will teach my children. . .

[connorkimbro]

I will teach my children to accept responsibility for their actions.

I will teach my children to respect the elderly.

I will teach my children to always tell the truth.

I will teach my children to work hard, and enjoy life.

I will teach my children to admit when they're wrong.

I will teach my children that communication is the key to any and every succesful relationship.

I will teach my children that violence does not solve problems, it causes them.

I will teach my children to find the beauty in everybody and everything.

and so much more. . .

what will you teach your children?

[David Floyd]

....to accept personal responsibility, and to demand it from others

....never to allow someone to push them around

....integrity

....to think for themselves

Those are probably four of the most important things I can think of, in no particular order (except for the first one).

[Nubclear]

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to accept responsibility only when it brings them personal gain, or gain for a friend.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to respect those whom respect them.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to treat whomever they choose to be their life partners (Aren't I politically correct? ) with the utmost respect, and to continuously strive to make their relationship stronger.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to resist sexual impulses.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children that peace is the answer to most conflicts, but to always destroy their enemies completly and utterly.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to think independantely, but to follow my advice

I will (am) teach(ing) my children that patriotism and fascism walk hand in hand, and to actively neutralize these unstable elements.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to APPEAR to conform without actually conforming.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children that communication is the key to getting what you want.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to strive for intellectualism.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to use artforms to express their opinions, but to always make it abstract enough that nobody else really knows what the piece means.

I will (am) teach(ing) my children to be able to be able to recognized revisionism and to seek out the truth.

And so much more

[connorkimbro]

pinko troll!

[loinburger]

I will teach my children to laugh at themselves -- other people are going to laugh at them anyway, so my kids might as well join in on the fun.

[Drake Tungsten]

I will teach my children to hate Pakis, like any good Hindu should.

[Dis]

I will teach them to be a slacker and leach off the goverment.

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by loinburger
I will teach my children to laugh at themselves -- other people are going to laugh at them anyway, so my kids might as well join in on the fun.

A very good thread IMO, connorkimbro!
Anyways, what loinburger said above, as I've observed that my children are very concerned about their social status, and so I want to ensure that they take into context the fact that they are still young, growing human beings, who make mistakes as they progress down Life's path. I always bring up the example of each of them learning to walk, as it took each of them over a week, as well as many unsuccessfull, and funny, tries while they learned the finer nuances of how to teach their bodies how to walk. As Mark Twain once said, why laughter is one of Humanities best defenses. Learning to laugh at yourself, and understand why, is one of the best lessons you can teach your children.

D

[Dis]

children should be concerned about social status. It is very important to be on top. You should always strive to be on top, and push anyone out of the way who interferes with that. Or else you end up without any girlfriends and very unhappy.

[Oerdin]

I will teach them to join neo-nazi hate groups, to beat small puppy dogs, to sponge welfare, and to be sexually promiscuous.

[Oerdin]

Oh, yeah just to piss off the safety nazis I'm going to teach them to talk on the phone while driving too.

[Mr. Harley]

To pet the kitty gently without grabbies (needs just a little bit more fine motor control).

To furniture surf.

To keep kissing daddy (she just sorta figured it out ).

Cords are dangerous and do not put them in your mouth - rotten serrano peppers do it very well, thank you. (natural consequences work better than a thousand No's)

Otherwise I like Comrade Tassadar and Connerkimbo's statements, except with respect to violence.

When she is much older, that violence works, unfortunately, but that it usually creates a host of other problems, and except in defense, and even sometimes then, rebounds on the perpetrator even worse. I still plan to go hunting with her, and teach her how to handle a gun in self-defense (note - venison, largely chemical free, organic, healthy meat - BAMBI BURGERS). And if she decides she doesn't want to go hunting, that will be fine to.

[connorkimbro]

When she is much older, that violence works, unfortunately, but that it usually creates a host of other problems, and except in defense, and even sometimes then, rebounds on the perpetrator even worse. I still plan to go hunting with her, and teach her how to handle a gun in self-defense (note - venison, largely chemical free, organic, healthy meat - BAMBI BURGERS). And if she decides she doesn't want to go hunting, that will be fine to.

Just to clarify my position a bit more to you. . .

I do not consider self-defense nor hunting to be wrong. I hunt and fish myself and would like to take my children someday, if they're interested; and I would also NEVER dream of telling of my my children that they should not defend themselves.

[JohnT]

Sophie is going to have karate lessons starting next year.