Ubuntu Parenting: Belonging Before Behavior

Your child hits. Grabs. Refuses to share. You correct them. You remind them.

You explain why it’s not okay. And yet… it keeps happening. What if the problem

isn’t that your child doesn’t know the rules? What if they’re missing something

deeper—something research shows can change how children treat others? Stay with me.

In South Africa, early childhood researchers studied classrooms built around a simple

idea called Ubuntu. It means, “I am because we are.” Instead of focusing

on rules, punishments, or rewards, these classrooms centered everything

on belonging, shared responsibility, and care for others. The researchers observed how children