It is not "telling" your children but "showing" them. Lead by example. Live out truthfully what values are important to you, by how you are with your children, yourself and others. The irony of it all is, we are asking our children to act, do, be the 'right' way.. If we look back at ourselves, we aren't doing it the 'right' way either. Raising children, to me, is life's greatest challenge... if you want to do a good job. Its being on top of your game all the time. In all areas. Its hard to have it all put together.
Show them kindnesss, by being kind to them, being kind to yourself and being kind to others.
Show them empathy by crying alongside them.
Show them forgiveness by forgiving them, by being forgiving of yourself and forgiving to others.
Play with them. Follow their creative minds on whatever journey they take you on.
Show them they are valued, by making time for them, never ignoring them, being a friend to them, being humble with them and always helping them.
Show them that rules are important, but are meant to be broken once in a while.
Show them truth, by being honest to them, honest with yourself and honest with others.
Give them childhood memories, that when they reflect back to, they smile.
Show them independence and teach them its value. " Independence is Happiness"
Show them how to listen, by listening to them, listening to yourself and listening to others
Show them that their insides are beautiful too, by letting them see you accentuating and respecting your insides.
Help them find what makes them happy, don't push your dreams and goals on them.
Show them confidence but not arrogance.
Show them patience by being with patient with them, patient with yourself and patient with others.
Show them no one is perfect, by being honest and open about your own imperfections.
Teach them to listen to their intuition.
Show them hard work, by example.
Show them that loosing makes you stronger, afterall, its how we learn some of our biggest lessons.
Show them that vulnerability is powerful.
Watch them sleep once in a while. Appreciate every little breath they take.
and if all else fails... All we need to do is..
LOVE them unconditionally, with every ounce of our heart.
It's probably the hardest challenge I have ever taken part in. And I think I am falling behind the pack. Its time to pick up the pace. My kids are a reflection of me, in a way. I don't want to fail them with my laziness, selfishness, or lack of focus.
Our own faults shine bright while raising our kids. We need to take this time to work on things ourselves. We should never stop striving to be better people and what better chance then when we have the eyes of a young child watching our every step.
