Main idea: Knowing when and HOW to accept responsibility and apologize
- Who we are:
- I’m Kasie, I’m in Columbia- daughter (age 12)
- I’m Jessica. I live in the Upstate of South Carolina, and I have two boys, 6th and 3rd grade.
- I’m Melissa in the lowcountry, 3 kids in elementary school
- The purpose and scope of the episode-
- In the last episode we discussed the importance of trust in a free society, but along with that comes personal responsibility
- Today’s topic:
- What is personal responsibility, and how is it important to liberty?
- How do we explain personal responsibility to our kids? What examples do we use?
- Jessica- The story about Jackson and the Janitor- I don’t shield my kids from the consequences of their actions. I let them mess up then talk about what they could have done differently to ensure a more favorable outcome, and we discuss the importance of any consequence or punishment to ensure that they understand. It is sometimes hard to watch your child hurt (whether physically or emotionally), but sometimes pain is the best teacher.
- Kasie- The friend matrix — what do you expect a good friend to be and do? Like a rubric? Does this friend do these things? Should you consider her a friend? Conversely, when you are behaving badly toward your friends, do you know you’re in the wrong? And if you do, how do you right that wrong?
- What are some other examples you use?
- Kasie- Charlie and I cop to stuff quickly and easily. I take responsibility (sometimes for things that are not my fault) just so we can move on to the next thing. We frequently have moments where we say, “Here’s what happened and here’s how it could have gone differently.”
- Jessica- We watch the news in the evenings, so my kids are well informed as to current events. We use those often to discuss consequences. The most recent events are the firing/discipline of law enforcement officers for misconduct- no one should be immune to consequence.
- What does an apology entail?
- Kasie- Understand the consequences of your actions. Experience true remorse. Think about how things could have gone differently.
- Jessica- Beyond words- Words should be earnest, but should also be accompanied by amends. Take immediate steps to make whole any person harmed by your actions. In the case of Jackson and the janitor, Jackson not only voluntarily apologized to the janitor but was also the only child who offered to help them clean the mess he and his friends had made. He not only apologized, but made amends by also offering to help clean the cafeteria after lunch and sweep his hall every day for as long as they wanted to show that he was sorry for his actions. I only knew he did this because the VP told me.
- How does this support liberty?
- If we know that we can trust one another to hold ourselves accountable to others it makes it easier to trust one another to do the right thing, or at least to know that if someone does wrong by us they will try to make it right.
- Coming up on the next episode:
- Your Mom is a Feminist (Except, no, she’s not)
- Follow us on all the socials
- Thanks and goodbye
Support the Libertarian Party of South Carolina (SCLP) here.
Support the Libertarian candidate for President, Jo Jorgensen, here.
Parenting Porcupines 