Imitation

Imitation. This is a word used so often, but we forget its importance to us as parents. We want our children to imitate the good that is in us.

And now looking back at my three kids, two of whom are already adults, I found that my children did imitate many good things from me, and also some of the bad.

I looked at these negative things and saw a glaring, red light flashing me in the face, and as a parent I wanted to help rid these aspects from my children. But what I realized was that my kids were a reflection. They were imitating me.

It wasn’t my kids that I needed to change, it was me. My children have been great mirrors, showing the ugliness that needs to change in me first.  

Our kids can teach us a lot. We just need let go of our egos. We need to be honest with ourselves and embrace the needed changes in ourselves along with our kids.

Admit you are wrong to your children and then work on changing the negative behavior together. I can promise you from experience it will draw you closer.

I would love to hear your story of how you saw your children imitating some of your negative habits and how you worked on fixing those things together.