Your children are listening and learning from you constantly whether you think they are or not. Your behaviour affects your children’s behaviour because they are copying you.
Just like they learned to talk by repeating your words, they learn to behave by repeating your behaviors.
There are many parents who want their children to behave well, but do not behave well themselves.
They seem to believe that they can be rude and insensitive to others, and expect to raise children who are loving, follow the rules, and are compassionate. It just doesn’t work like that.
Changing Your Child’s Behavior HAS To Start With Changing Yours
If you are loving, and compassionate, your children are more likely to be loving and compassionate. If you are fun-loving and happy, they too should display these qualities too. Whatever your good qualities are, your children will probably share them.
Unfortunately, the reverse is true as well. Parents who lose their temper easily, are angry, frustrated, anxious, scream, or are rude have children who behave poorly.
Whatever you do to a child is telling them it is OK for them to do to others. For example, hitting a child because they hit a sibling simply reinforces that hitting is an option and increases the likelihood they hit again.
Be your best self in front of your kids! In doing so, realize that being your best self may mean learning from your mistakes rather than not making them. We ALL make mistakes.
This is how we learn. Making changes in our children means committing to change within ourselves.
What life do you want for your children? Do you want them to work long hours and suffer stress and anxiety? Do you want them to pass the behaviors of stress and anxiety down to their children, or instead will you teach them to nurture themselves?
If you don’t find time for yourself, how will they learn to find time for themselves?
3 Ways To Get Your Children To Look After Themselves
1. Start looking after yourself, eat well, exercise, take some time to rest. This will set a great example for your kids.
2. Start talking to them as if they were young adults. Shouting at kids because you are busy, anxious or angry teaches them that it is OK to shout at you and others.
If you are angry walk away, take a deep breath, calm yourself down and the go back once you are calm.
3. If you want to teach your children to be kind and considerate themselves. You must be kind and considerate to yourself and to them too.
Rather than saying things that will make your child feel bad about themselves, try saying things that will build them up. Rather than saying negative things about yourself, start saying positive things.
When your child sees you looking after yourself they will learn that it is good to look after themselves in a nurturing way.
You can find much more information on living a holistic lifestyle in these free magazines and on our YouTube channel.
Sharon White
If you would like to learn more and work with me one on one I would love to work with you. I am passionate about people having a voice, being heard and creating the change you want in your life.
You can contact me at sharon@globalhealingexchange.com to see how I can help you. Sharon is the founder of Global Healing Exchange. You can work with her on her Emotional Freedom Program here.
