Our children are watching and learning from our every action, expression, and spoken word. For example, as in my June 1, 2021 blog, “Children are our most prized possession,” the child learned that yelling and cursing helped the parent make a point.
Remember, they don’t do what we say to do – they do what we do. We must remember the old sayings such as “Little pitchers have big eyes” or “big ears.” We, as teaching parents, are under constant observation.
If you have bad habits that you don’t want your children to copy, then, of course, you would avoid saying those words or doing those things in the child’s presence. That works while they are very young.
They start to see through our lies pretty fast, though. A 2-year-old knows the sound of a package of chips or cookies being opened in secret, and a 6-year-old can tell when we prioritize work over family.
Lifelong change of habits of the parent is the sure way to raise a child with good habits – easier said than done, of course, but that is how we make a difference in our children’s lives.