Kids do what we do whether we want them to or not.The other day we went thru the Starbucks drive thru. We forgot Hannah's sippy cup so we were a little concerned that she was gonna freak out. As soon as we got our drinks, Hannah started saying "Hanna's dink (drink)"... we thought, oh boy, what are we going to do.
Just then the worker said "we made a mistake on an order, do you want this?" and handed us a caramel frappuccino. We struck gold Jerry!!
Then we gave our kid a caffeine filled milkshake. Giving a turbo charged red-headed 2 year old a caffeine drink may not be the smartest thing we ever did, but we gave it to her anyway. We figured we could listen to her scream for the remainder of the 1 hour drive, or we could give it to her with hopes it would wear off by the time we got out.
We were the heroes. We ended up sharing it between all of us so she didn't get the whole thing, but we all won.
My point: we teach what we know but we reproduce who we are. We can't explain "this is bad for you - but good for us". Those words are hollow. Our actions speak far louder than our words. If you see something that frustrates you in your children, look at yourself , it's probably your fault.
This generation will not know life without Starbucks... we had it rough!
3 comments:
Great Post, words whisper - ACTIONS SCREAM
Look at the fallout caused in today's young generation by the actions of the older generation betraying what they said.
...You can't microwave your children (jtb)
- Children spell love, T-I-M-E
- Is the amount of money from your job or the extra hours worth the time you DON'T spend with your children?
- Do your children "expect" presents whenever you go shopping or to run an errand? Have their birthdays become almost meaningless because they already have whatever they want? PRESENCE not PRESENTS!
- Does giving your children "the good life" mean buying them "things" instead of teaching them morals and values?
- Is the double income in the household worth your children being raised by child care workers earning $5/Hr.? - Whose morals/values are they learning?
- Stop trying to be your child's best friend and become their parent. You can be friends with them when they are grown up and moved on with their own lives and families...Don't sacrifice discpline/love for "cool points" - this is the downfall of the family environment. There is no respect or room for the dichotomy of authority figure/friend - you cannot serve two masters.
- Stop comparing your children to their siblings, relatives, etc. They are INDIVIDUALS. Celebrate their diversity. Stop belittling them. They are your children not race horses you are betting on - -you are supposed to be raising them to be better than you...
- Your children are not always right. Do not take their side if they are wrong. You can be supportive without doing just that. Especially with authority figures, teachers, leaders, etc. Your children will learn lack of respect - -teach consequences and follow through with consistency even if it hurts or takes time to do it. They will be better off in the end.
- NOT ME is no excuse:
"Each of us must come to care about everyone else's children. We must recognize that the welfare of our children and grandchildren is intimately linked to the welfare of other people's children. After all, when one of our children needs life-saving surgery, someone else's child will perform it. If one of our children is threatened or harmed by violence, someone else's child will be responsible for the violent act. The good life of our children can be secured only if a good life is secured for all other people's children".
P.S. This is having it rough - -I was working in a bar when I was Hannah's age.
wow "truth" you got your preach on... great comment. your comments are much better than my posts. I would be honored to pumice your calloused feet and wash your socks
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