Children are much better at imitating something that they have seen than obeying a rule or spoken command. Not to mention that when you pontificate (lecture… preach… elaborate) on a regular basis, even with a righteous subject matter, your child(ren) will grow dangerously tired of it, and you will begin the descent toward exasperating them all the quicker.
Children are great imitators and they will do what you do, preferences or not. It’s true in food, in sports team loyalty, in political views, and in humor. Did you have to tell your children to cheer for the football team that you enjoy watching? Odds are that they developed the affinity for them simply because you get excited over them. Because “that’s how it works.”
I hope all is well with you and your family. Over the last year I’ve learned much in my own…