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…
If you are the best you, that you can be, then you will be an example for your child(ren) to become what they need to be. You don’t have to go far to be an example to your children, it’s mostly in you already, like I said before!
You talk about it being creepy that Santa “sees you when your sleeping, he knows when you’re awake…” The reality is that children are always watching. Whether they’re yours, ones that you take care of, or simply ones that happen to be in your vicinity children are wired to mimic what they see adults doing. They are always watching!
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