Good Parenting- Lead Your Child by Example
I have never come across anyone who likes to be told what to do. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you have come across anyone who likes to be told what to do either. At times we accept that we must be told what to do, almost in the same manner we respond to an ultimatum. We all like the idea of feeling that we are in control our own space, our own thoughts, our own ideas and our own actions.
Kids are no different from us in that respect. Moreover, most kids are too young to have developed the skill of being tactful, so they let you know exactly what they are feeling. As adults, our immediate reaction is to “put the child in his or her place”. We feel the need to let children know who the boss of the house is; and in the process we develop little inner monsters in our kids.
The truth is that we are all microcosms of our immediate environment. Whether we are consciously or subconsciously absorbing what is around us, there is always a constant retention process taking place. Kids are even bigger sponges than we are. They imitate our mannerisms, our slang, our good habits, and unfortunately our bad habits also.
As parents, what we need to do is to lead our kids by example. If you are polite and respectful to your kid and to others, your kid will adopt these qualities also. However, if your kid sees you constantly screaming at others and using expletives in your every day mode of communication, they will adopt these negative traits also.
We may not always be aware that our kids are imbibing who we are. They may not show us signs of it while they are still kids; but when they grow to be adults, and they are free to be who they really are, all of the filtered and unfiltered elements of what they have absorbed along the way will come to light.
We are definitely unable to stop the osmotic process between parent and child, and it is also impossible to prevent our kids’ interactions outside the home; however, as parents we can most definitely make a conscious decision to be positive catalysts for our impressionable substrates.
Lead your kids by setting positive examples for them. It may require a bit more pre-thought, and it may not be the easiest thing in the world to do; but rest assured it is one thing that you will never regret having done for your kid, and for society as a whole.
