Set a Good Example
Here's an interesting parental quote that I found: "Children are natural mimics: they act like their parents in spite of every attempt to teach them good manners."
So… are YOU setting a good example? Do you practice what you preach? Are you an effective role model for your child?
Imagine this… you teach your child to be polite, to always say "please" and "thank you". But then again, you yourself do not really add these words whenever you talk to your kids or to someone else.
Or, you see your child hit another child or his/her sibling. Of course, your immediate reaction is to say "no hitting". But then again, what kind of message would you be giving your child if you spank him/her whenever he/she is being disobedient?
Without even realizing it, we (parents) can be inconsistent in what we teach our kids. It can cause confusion. It could also cause them to follow our "bad" example.
See what I mean?
Again… are YOU setting a good example? Do you practice what you preach? Are you an effective role model for your child?
January 2nd, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I completely agree with this, Melissa. Such good advice. And the benefit is how readily children learn from example. Keep saying those pleases and thank-yous, without nagging the kids about it (most often in public), and pretty soon you’ll hear them emulating you.