Every time my toddler mimics me; my words, my expressions, even my body language, it reinforces the fact that I am shaping the life of this little individual. He is watching me.
All. The. Time.
Sometimes this scares me, to be honest. Half the time I question if I really know what I am doing at all.
But there are times, too, when this idea fills me with hope. I am shaping this little individual. I have the opportunity to add a kind, smart, compassionate and honorable man to this world.
My grandfather would open the car door for my grandmother. He would hold out her jacket and slide it gently on her arms. It was magical and marvelous, and normal.
I couldn’t tell you when, exactly, such acts went by the wayside. I just know they did. Evidence to that is clear. It is the door that closes abruptly in my face, when I have an infant in my arms and a toddler holding my hand. It is the push of a crowd, the bump on my shoulder of a stranger who does not look up from his phone to see who he hit. It is our ant-social world that prides itself on being so socially connected.
How do we raise our children with morals and values, in a world that does not seem to have any?
I want to do more than simply complain about this reality. I want to change it. As parents, we have the chance to be the change.
It will not happen over night.
Instead, it will happen one parent, one child at a time. One nicety at a time. One more moment of sitting down with your child to explain the reason behind an act of kindness, or, for that matter, the lack there of.
I will take this challenge, and welcome your thoughts, triumphant or unsuccessful, as you do as well.
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