Children are taught to obey—parents, teachers, elders. This is necessary and good. But blind obedience without conscience can lead people to follow harmful instructions. Confucius distinguishes between proper respect for authority and the deeper obligation to humaneness. Parents can raise obedient children who are also morally courageous by teaching them that all authority—including parental authority—is itself accountable to what is right. This means allowing children, in age-appropriate ways, to question rules they believe are unfair, and responding to those questions with openness rather than anger. The goal is not a defiant child, but one whose obedience is rooted in understanding, not fear.