In the past, the inheritance of wealth from parents to children naturally favored sons. Many wealthy families have gradually declined because their children spend money without thinking about accumulation.
Nowadays, many parents give money to their children, but their children waste it. Many billionaires and millionaires today say that they don’t give all their wealth to their children, only a part of it, and the rest is given to society. That is how they teach their children.
In the past, there were three things that were considered more valuable than money: knowledge, intellect, and moral character. Parents should give their children these three things.
First, knowledge and intellect are more valuable than money.
A well-educated child with rich inner life and intelligence is always attractive. Reading books and being eager to learn is the way to gain knowledge and intellect. Many people spend time making money early to feel secure.
However, people without knowledge have limited perspectives and tend to be selfish, thinking they are always right and only considering their own interests without thinking about the bigger picture. They don’t understand that lacking knowledge is more terrifying than earning little money.
Therefore, parents should teach their children to be enthusiastic about reading books and learning. Parents should also be role models for their children to follow. Reading books can enrich one’s life and experiencing a book is like experiencing a lifetime. The more experiences and discoveries one has, the more diverse and rich their knowledge and intellect becomes.
Reading books and being eager to learn helps us not become narrow-minded individuals. It helps us identify shortcomings in life and become individuals with a high level of intellect. Intellectually capable people can handle things smoothly, overcome temptations, and live a peaceful life from within.
Moral character determines how far a person can go.
Many people think that having knowledge in a specialized field is enough to go far, forgetting that “Virtue is like water, talent is like waves.” Talented people without virtue are like bubbles, without source, and can’t go the distance. Talent is important, but talent without moral character will gradually be eliminated.
A person with good moral character is respected and admired. Moral character is the passport for everyone’s life. A person’s moral character is their brand and positioning. People with poor moral character will find it difficult to go far in society. Always treat others with kindness, and you can establish long-term relationships with anyone. Because they understand emotions, tolerance, and respect.
Children’s personalities reflect the lives and souls of their parents. Children often learn their parents’ personalities. Therefore, to nurture moral character in children, parents must also cultivate it in themselves. Parents with good habits and good moral character will influence their children. If parents have bad habits and negative traits, their children will also be affected. Parents want to nurture certain personality traits in their children, so first, they must possess those traits themselves.
Teach your children to choose to be a good person, a truly good person.
In society, there is a rule that if we are kind and do less harm to others, we will be less threatened. A person with many enemies will naturally be more dangerous than a person with fewer enemies. Living with kindness may still be harmful, but at least it eliminates some enemies. Living kindly and associating with kind people brings more peace. A kind person, who treats others kindly, will have many grateful people and receive help when facing difficulties.
That’s why the ancients said that righteousness is like a talisman, gradually cutting off the enemies around us, not creating more enemies in the future, and those who hate us will be less agitated and thus lessens the potential for evil.
However, we must know how to be rightfully kind. If we don’t know how to be rightfully kind, we can be taken advantage of and harmed. Therefore, besides kindness, we need intelligence to distinguish right from wrong, to know the appropriate kindness for ourselves. Good-heartedness must also have limits. We should not doubt others, but we should also not take advantage of others’ kindness. Good-heartedness should be genuine, not unconditional obedience, nor should it be fearful and naive. For petty and ungrateful people, selfish people, those without integrity, and those who live wickedly… it is best to stay away from them or teach them a lesson, instead of always yielding to them. We teach our children to practice kindness with the understanding that if they are excessively kind, the other party may dare to be “unscrupulous.”
If your child grows up with these three qualities, they will undoubtedly become a courageous person, able to deeply understand life, know right from wrong, and know how to behave to ensure their safety and create a better society. Your child will surely be successful and blessed.