How do you teach your kids wisdom? Maybe they’re excelling at school, know their gadgets backwards … but are they wise?
In the old days, which means those pre-internet, pre-screen addiction times, bored kids sometimes came across these strange things called books. Some of them were books of proverbs.
Many screen-dazzled kids today are not familiar with such idioms and what each one means. For why would they, if their attention is being stolen by non-stop communication and distraction?
Not all proverbs are wise, but most are. So it’s worth sharing these with your kids.
Here are some I know:
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Cleanliness is next to godliness
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me
When in Rome do as the Romans do
The grass is always greener on the other side
Charity begins at home
Blood is thicker than water
Don’t wash your dirty laundry in public
Rome wasn’t built in a day
Be careful of what you wish for
A journey of 10000 miles begins with a single step
Don’t cry over spilt milk
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
The eyes are windows to the soul
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
Sometimes the best answer is silence
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealth and wise
The early bird catches the worm
Too many cooks spoilt the soup
Two heads are better than one
There’s more than one way to skin a cat
Prevention is better than cure
Curiosity killed the cat
No man is an island
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
Don’t make an encyclopedia out of a nursery rhyme.
KISS: Keep it super simple. (Keep it simple, stupid! is insulting)
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
The love of money is the root of all evil
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
Evil happens because good people do nothing
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder
One man’s meat is another man’s poison
The more things change the more things remain the same
History repeats itself
You reap what you sow
You make your bed you lie in it
Stop and smell the roses
Have your cake and eat it too
A place for everything and everything in its place
Save your pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves
Half a loaf of bread is better than none
A miss is as good as a mile
Better late than never
It’s the journey, not the destination
Slow and steady wins the race
Strike whilst the iron is hot
Out of the frying pan and into the fire
The pot calling the kettle black
Patience is a virtue
Waiting for the kettle to boil
Time waits for no man
Birds of a feather flock together
Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched
No pain, no gain
A leopard never changes its spots
What is good for the goose is good for the gander
Empty vessels make the most noise
The squeaky wheel makes the most noise
When there’s a will, there’s a way
Casting pearls before swine
Idle hands do the devil’s work
Silence is golden
Cleanliness is next to godliness
Spare the rod and spoil the child
Birds of a feather flock together
Cut your nose to spite your face
Forewarned is forearmed
You can find more proverbs here:
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