In our day and age respect toward elder people is not nurtured like it has been in times past. At least, that is my observation. (I’m not saying that I do a good enough job of training my children to say “Mr.” and “Mrs.” like I should.) Part of educating our children is to teach them to be polite and part of teaching them to be polite is teaching them to respect elderly. We are even admonished, “Teach your children to be kind and courteous to all, and especially to respect the old.” Review and Herald, Apr. 21, 1891

A great way to teach children to respect elderly people is by giving them an opportunity to minister to the elderly. Maybe you don’t know anybody who is elderly. Well get out your phone book. I’m quite sure that the first retirement center or nursing home that you call will take up any offer that you make. There are so many things that can be done for the elderly, that they will appreciate and enjoy. The children can make crafts and distribute them among the residents. You can put on a little program, either with just your family or you can pull along some other families to join you. If any of your children are taking music lessons, this is a great opportunity for them to play some pieces that they have been learning. Also asking the elderly to join with you on singing good old gospel songs always brings smiles to their faces. If nobody in your family or group is musical, that’s no problem, you can share some stories or scriptures or just be friendly.

For some time, we have been visiting a nursing home or retirement center once a month on Sabbath afternoons and putting on a little program for them. We share Scriptures, sing songs, play some musical pieces, say memory verses, share stories, give crafts and most importantly take the time to squeeze the hands and smile into the eyes of each person who comes to our program. This has just been a really neat service experience for our family. It has helped my children (and myself) to develop more sympathy toward others. Every single time, when we leave, I feel like I have been in the presence of Jesus. I’m sure that you if you give this wonderful service project a try, you will have the same experience.