Do you sometimes wonder if your kids are learning the life lessons you are trying to teach them? If you believe what some experts say, you won’t see the fruit of your labor for years to come. While that might be true in some respects, in many ways if you continuously set a good example your kids will imitate you.
One complement I get often is that Tyler is well-mannered. His behavior is a case of learning by example. For instance, I always say “Thank you,” to anyone who does anything for me. As a result he does the same and it’s second nature now.
He’s also very giving. His teacher’s birthday is today. He found out about it last week when he mentioned that his was Monday. He worried himself silly because he had to get her a present. I should say that he wanted to get her one. It wasn’t a sense of obligation, no, he really wanted to do something that would make her happy.
So often we say our kids are selfish and only think of themselves and sometimes they can be. But aren’t we all. When our kids wake us up early on a Saturday morning aren’t we being selfish when we turn over and go back to sleep?
We all have our good and not so good qualities. When we see our kids doing something thoughtful we have to make sure we recognize their effort. I made sure I told Tyler how thoughtful I felt he was for wanting to get his teacher a gift. He has $97 and he’s announced that he wants to give the money to charity. The money is a combination of money he’s saved from his allowance and money he received for his birthday. If he really wants to use this money to help someone less fortunate, I certainly don’t think I should stand in his way. We could adopt a family for Christmas and use the money to buy a few gifts.
My advice to parents is not to become discouraged. We should keep pressing on, teaching our kids by example. Whether we realize it or not, the messages are being received loud and clear.
See also:
Are Parents Important Life Lessons Sinking In?