Teaching Justice to Children

O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.” ~ Baha’u’llah
Over the generations people fought for justice, equality, and peace. I believe all these fundamental virtues are taught from childhood. So today I want to share with you on how we teach justice to our children. 

Justice is a powerful human virtue. It allows us to measure our actions and act upon consideration for other people. 

Justice is not about “bringing someone to justice” and, therefore, judging them and sentencing them. It is about equality and fairness for all people. It is about a chance for everyone to get access to education, jobs, healthcare; for every child to have a chance to grow in normal conditions, surrounded by happiness. 

Justice is one of the principals that Martin Luther King stood for. Justice frees us from prejudice, it allows us to make judgements based on character, not skin colour, or nationality. Justice gives a fair chance to everyone without exception. It requires everyone to follow the rules and laws. 

Here are some tips on how you can nurture justice in your children:

1. Created simple rules that all family has to follow. E.g. everyone has to brush their teeth before bed. Everyone has to clean up after themselves. 

2. Talk about equality and what it means. Discuss responsibilities and how they change with the age. 

3. Discuss some age appropriate news with your children on what is going in the world. Ask them to think of the ways they think the problems can be solved. 

4. If your family is religious, you can say a prayer once a day together for healing the world. If you are not religious, you can create some confirmations to share that your children can repeat every day. For example: “I am of this world. And this world is mine. It belongs to me just as it belongs to everyone else. Today I am sending healing vibes to the worlds and its citizens”.

5. Teach children generosity, sharing, compassion, caring. You can see some of the examples on how to approach these virtues in my Virtues Series.

6. Teach your children to love the world. To avoid discrimination. To accept everyone as they are. This doesn’t mean letting things slide if someone is doing something terrible. It means keeping hope for everyone can change and everyone deserves a chance to life.