Sometimes my kids will give me a real zinger. I received one today when I was a passenger in the van my son was driving. He is very new to driving and so far his experience has been on side streets.
So today I stretched his comfort zone and had him start off further away from home, going down some busy streets. At one point he was going along and I told him to slow down a little. He asked me why and I said because the speed limit is 30 and you are going 33. Then he delivered the zinger. “You’re a hypocrite.”
Ouch, that hurt a bit. But he was right. I was being a hypocrite. He announced what my usual speed limit is when I am in a 30 mile per hour speed zone and I had to admit he was right. I was definitely being a hypocrite.
Sadly, my initial reaction was to defend myself. I told him that I had more control and experience. Yet he was happy to point out that I was still disobeying the law by going the speed I go. Ouch, yet another zinger.
I have always been aware of the example that I set before my children. I have tried to set a good one but unfortunately, many times I fail. That’s because I am far from perfect and my children will gladly tell you so. Despite my imperfections, my goal is to try.
Once-in-a-while, such as happened in the van, I will get a very good glimpse into just how much my children are watching me. I may not have ever really thought about the fact that my son knows if I am going over the speed limit. I may have somehow thought he was unaware. Yet I discovered he wasn’t. He has been watching me and I have been setting a poor example.
What example are you setting for your children? There are so many areas that we set an example in. It happens in our speech, our actions, our choices and our decisions.
Can we blame them when they do something wrong, if it is the very same wrong thing we do? Do I want my son to speed? No, I certainly do not. It will be difficult enough the first time he is out on his own in the car. I don’t want that added worry. So now I am going to work on setting a better example with my driving.
What changes do you need to make?
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