How would you explain the differences among the silver rule, the golden rule, and the platinum rule to a first grader in 100 words or less? How would you do the same to a freshman in college in 50 words or less?

First, let’s state the three rules.

• The Silver Rule is: Do not treat other people in the manner in which one would not want to be treated by them.
• The Golden Rule is: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or, treat others the way you would like to be treated.
• The Platinum Rule is: "Do unto others as they would have you do unto them, not as you would have them do unto you."
  
  

For the first grader, I would say:

• Silver Rule: If you don’t like being hurt, don’t hurt other kids. If you don’t like somebody taking away your toys, don’t take theirs. If you don’t like kids calling you names, don’t call them names. Then everyone will be happy.
• Golden Rule: Think about what makes you feel nice and happy. Then, do what makes you feel good for other kids. If you want kids to be nice to you, be nice to them too. It will make you both feel happy and you can’t go wrong.
• Platinum Rule: Think about what would make another kid happy and then do it. It feels so much better than just thinking about yourself, you’ll see! You might like Legos but she might like Barbie dolls. Get her the Barbie for her birthday instead of the Legos.
  
  

For the college freshman, I would say:

• Silver Rule: When you are at a decision point about how to proceed in a social situation, don’t do anything that you wouldn’t like to be done to you. Regardless of the peer pressure, if you know you wouldn’t like it, don’t do it to anyone else.
  
  
• Golden Rule: Reflect on how good you feel within yourself when people treat you fairly and with compassion. Discover what makes you happy. Then turn around and treat others the same way. You will never go wrong if you do this.
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• Platinum Rule: Not everyone wants to be treated the same way—even if it is the way you want to be treated. Show sensitivity by treating people how they want to be treated in a situation and take yourself out of the picture. After all, it is not about your preference, it’s about theirs.