Your Child Follows Your Example More Than Your Advice
Read this article to know why setting a good example for kids is very important.
We were just chilling one afternoon, and I saw my 6-year-old daughter looking at my mobile phone. I told her that watching too much mobile is not good for her eyes and brain.
She promptly replied, “Mummy, but you watch mobile all the time.”
Her reply made me think, whether it is fair to ask kids to do something which we do not follow ourselves?
I asked myself, will they learn more by listening to me or watching me?
All of us try very hard to be good parents. We try to send our kids to good schools, provide them healthy food, etc., but sometimes we forget to set good examples for them.
We all teach our kids good things, but we forget that they are also watching us all the time.
Your kids are not only watching but they are also listening to you all the time. The way you speak, what you speak, influences their behavior.
The kids learn most of the values from their families. This doesn’t only include parents and siblings. It also includes grandparents, uncles, and aunts, cousins, etc.
Do you know the entire concept of arranged marriage is based on this? People assume that kids from good families are always good as parents must have taught them their ethics, moral values, etc.
How to set an excellent example for your kids?
Now that we have talked about the importance of setting a good example for kids let us talk about how to set a good example for kids.
Setting an excellent example
Giving orders doesn’t work. Setting a good example does. If you ask your kids to exercise daily or eat healthy food, they may not follow you, but when they see you living a healthy lifestyle, they will start following you.
I have seen some parents gossiping, watching television, etc., but they keep asking their kids to go to the room and study. Do you think this will work?
Remember being a parent is a huge responsibility. You are responsible for shaping a kid’s future. If you set yourself as a good example, there is an excellent chance your kid will be turn out to be like you.
Follow your advice with action.
Children always learn by watching their parents. If you ask them to read daily and you yourselves do not read regularly, then your advice will not work.
If you ask them to read every night before bedtime, they might not listen to you. However, if you start reading to them or be a part of that, they will follow you. Every advice should be followed by action. This also helps you to build good habits for your kids.
Accept your mistakes and weaknesses.
Nobody is perfect. We all have our weaknesses and shortcomings. If we want our kids to be better than us, then we need to accept our flaws and talk to them about how we are trying to improve at it.
Kids learn how to deals with problems from their parents. If the parents are not working on their problems, how can they expect their kids to keep improving?
Talk to your kids about your weaknesses and how you are trying to improve it. When the kids see their parents taking the effort to grow, this sets an excellent example.
Remember, when they see you trying, they will admire and mirror you.
Your kid’s behavior is simply a reflection of yours.
Every child’s behavior is very similar to their parents. If you are a happy, calm, confident mother, more often than not, your kids will also turn out the same way. If you are unhappy and yelling around, your kids will also turn out in the same way.
“Live in such a way that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.”-H. Jackson Brown-
