I was having a conversation with one of my girlfriends the other day. She was telling me about one of her nephews. His mother had sent him to his room and told him to clean it. The mother actually told my girlfriend the story, it went something like this....
Mother: "go to your room and don't come out until it is clean."
Son leaves and comes back after some serious thinking. When he returns he says to his mother...
Son: "Mom, aren't you suppose to set an example for us children?"
Mother: "Yes son, why do you ask?"
Son: "Well, then how come YOUR room isn't clean?"
It is a simple story, but it makes you think. Think about the things that we do or don't do and how much our children pay attention to us when we don't really think that they are. This eight year old little boy was exactly right. How can we ask our children to do things that we don't even bother to do ourselves? What kind of example is that? Trust me I am sure that I could come up with similar stories myself about my parenting flaws. I'm far from perfect, so the best I can do is make a conscious effort to change my bad habits and create positive new ones. Not an easy task I might add, but one well worth the effort.
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