Many people say becoming a father (or mother) is scary. We have the fear that we will fail. We’re going to be in charge of a life after all.
When you have your first child, everything is new.
A child doesn’t come with an owner’s manual. We’re not taught how to be a parent in school. There are hundreds of books and opinions on the topic, which can make it even more confusing.
But, we have spent our entire life watching “parenting” take place. We’ve seen what we should and shouldn’t do (thankfully, I had amazing parents who I hope to become someday).
In the recent years of being a father I’ve noticed that telling my children to eat their vegetables is not the most effective way in getting them to actually eat their vegetables. I have found a more effective and powerful method is to eat vegetables with your children, help your children grow vegetables, and make vegetables a staple in every meal.
It’s time we set aside our focus from “teaching” our children to becoming their role model. Spend your energy passing on all the positive things you have gathered from your parents and steering clear of the negative ones.
One of the most powerful things we can do as parents is model proper parenting because we all know our children are absorbing everything we do. While everything we say goes in one ear and out the other.
Each Father’s Day I choose a trait that I will spend a year modeling for my children. This year is the year of relationships. I’ve come to realize that how I treat my children’s mother will determine how they treat their future spouse and this also determines how they will be treated in relationships. So instead of saving all my shoulda woulda couldas for when they are older. I am going to spend the next 50 years showing them.
Boy, do I have a lot of work ahead of me!
What will you spend the next year modeling for your children?
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