Be Honest

Everything is open to interpretation.  Someone pointed out to me that their child does not act like them at all.  While I agree that is possible, not likely, but possible, sometimes it is necessary to step back and look at the whole picture.

Put ten people in a room and have something happen.  All ten of them will have a slightly different story to tell, but the basics are usually pretty close.

All children yell and scream, but not all children do it all the time, or think it is the best way to deal with discord.

And all children try things they know better than to do, but if the consequences are unpleasant enough, they will think twice before doing it again too soon.

It isn't the occasional bit of misbehaving that defines who a child and his parents are.  It's the constant and preferred way of behaving that does that.

Parenting takes an awful lot of patience and perseverance.  I've heard it said that it takes one breed of dog six times to learn a new trick and another breed fifty times!  Children are just as diverse and they think too, so the brighter the child, the more ways they may find to do something whether I consider it good, or bad.

I always hope that what my child learns will carry over into similar circumstances, but sometimes that connection just isn't as obvious to them as it is to me.  It is my job as a parent to teach them to connect the dots and that is easier if I am honest with myself.

It is counter productive to say I don't do something if I do.  Honestly, it is better to just admit I don't care than to say I don't do it when everyone can see I do.

I still think children grow up to be like the people who raised them. It is possible to change that, but it usually requires a great deal of conscious effort on the part of the adult child.