Your Kids Are Watching

Every parent learns very quickly that we have to be very careful in our choice of words around our kids. Even from a young age we can see how their brain is like a sponge, soaking up everything they see and hear.

Those parents who have ever dropped a "naughty" word in front of their toddlers and heard it repeated back in just the right context know exactly what I mean (or maybe that's just me that's done that!)

From the age of 0 to 7 years, the human brain is constantly learning and imprinting, building habits, and helping our little ones build their views of the world and themselves.

But just because your child is older than 7, it doesn't mean that they are influenced any less by the words you say to them.

But there is one thing even more important than your choice of words when it comes to influencing your children - and that's the actions that you take!

Our children learn far more from watching and observing our behaviors than they do from what we say to them. They know how loved they are by how much you do (or don't) show them!

Their ability to handle and resolve conflict as an adult is often directly reflected back to how their parents handled and resolved it. So next time you fly off the handle or at least leave conflict unresolved, make sure you go back and "clean up" the situation so that your kids can learn that even though we are all far from perfect, there's still a right way to handle things.

Remember too that they are watching the way that you treat yourself. If you talk badly about your body shape, or intelligence levels, or anything else then the odds are pretty high that your kids will do the same thing to themselves, no matter how much you tell them they're beautiful or smart.

As a parent, we have to continually try to become more aware of our behaviors and really work on the things that we want to impart onto our kids, and actually be the example for them, as talking about it just won’t get the job done if our actions show something different!

If you still have young kids, try to make a list of all the characteristics you’d like them to have as they grow and navigate this world, and then see where you are acting that way or not. That simple self-awareness will help us become the shining example of who we want our kids to become!