It was my very first sleepover. My mother had just given birth, and together with my younger sister, I was shipped off to stay by a family friend for the weekend. We had a grand time in their upstate home, but we gave them some trouble at bedtime.

“If you go to sleep nicely, I will give you a prize,” said Miryam, the teenage sister. That did the trick, as I quietly lay down and drifted off to sleep.

When I came to claim my prize the next morning, Miryam wasn’t forthcoming. “I’ll give you the prize when I’m ready, but here’s the thing—if you remind me one more time about the prize, you won’t get it.”

I saw she was serious, and so I valiantly held in requesting the prize so as not to lose it. And what do you know, I am still waiting for it to this very day . . .

When a child is promised a reward for learning or a good deed, and is not granted his reward, it undermines the trust the child has in his educator. Children don’t just forget about empty promises; to them, dishonesty is dishonesty.

Thoughtstream: Today, I will make sure to fulfill the promises I make to the little ones.

(Adapted from Sichot Kodesh 5736, vol. 2, pg. 278.)