3 Behaviours to Avoid around Kids

Young kids idolize their parents. As they continue to figure out what it means to be a person, the one thing they seem to be certain of early on is that they should try to be just like their parents, to do the things they do and say the things they say. One day, I am going to look back and yearn for the days when my kids looked at me like I was the most important person in the world, and so I will enjoy the experience while it lasts, but I have learned that being worshipped comes with a lot of responsibility. Read the end of that second sentence again. Kids, almost without fail, like to do the same things that their parents do, and as part of learning to speak, to say what they say. Because of that, even innocent behaviors can lead to trouble. An ordinary activity for a parent is usually being monitored, then imitated, and here are the three behaviors that I, as a parent, need to control the most.

Behaviors to Avoid

The Physical Act of Throwing

12186313_10153653478101788_5657303239581725311_oCleaning up after kids is exhausting, and occasionally, when unexpected guests are just 10 minutes away, needs to be completed quickly. The easiest way to clean a floor full of toys and stuffed animals is to pick them up and throw them into the toy bin. Seems simple, but kids often misapprehend the end goal: getting the toys into the bin. Soon, telling them to clean up will be misinterpreted as free reign to throw toys everywhere. A child is strong enough to fling a hard plastic toy with surprising velocity and that can be bad news for the big screen TV or the side of one’s head. But let’s be reasonable, kids like to throw things, so do some adults, and so one day, I convinced my Mom to give the Little Man one of those Little Tikes basketball nets for his birthday – turned out be a brilliant move. For a time, life was a constant throwing lesson for the Little Man. He had to be trained over and over that the toy basketball was the only thing he is allowed to throw, and preferably into the basketball net. Now days, I need to worry more about fists being thrown than toys, but for a time, everything in the house was in danger.

 

 

Using a Cell Phone around the Kids

B7ZfwxlCYAQm9tqA no brainer, but this is a tough behavior to rectify. Both Yashy and I work in digital marketing and so we tell ourselves that we need to be on top of social media and digital marketing trends, translating into a lot of time on cell phones, but when this leads to using the phone on the couch in the living room, or worse, at the dinner table, the kids see this and believe it to be normal behavior. For a time, they would request that they be allowed to bring the iPad to the table. Since both of us are in front of screens for work, they may even think that using an iPad is working, making them responsible contributors to the household. I’ll admit to a phone addiction, I hope it’s a mild one, and so I do need to remind myself to keep the phone away from the dinner table and to avoid using it when talking to the kids. Our parenting will be constantly challenged as we decide when and when not to allow the kids to use computers, but I am pretty confident that interacting with others while on the phone is a behavior we want to teach the kids to avoid.

 

Playfighting

10496974_1476643345909267_4324109920390235851_oKids are too cute when you mess with them. A tickle session can produce laughter that warms the heart, spinning them around makes them scream with joy, and even a playful slap on their occasionally enormous bellies will produce a happy smile, but while an adult can maintain a responsible level of rowdiness, a kid will always take it over the top, seeking thrills by jumping off the back of the coach and frequently hitting their parents to see if they get a good reaction. To compound the problem, once a kid learns that hitting is wrong, they occasionally hit just to lash out when they feel wronged. Yashy is always telling me that I deserve it every time one of the kids jumps on top of me when I don’t expect it, and maybe I do. Roughhousing with the kids is fun, but requires constant instruction on what is right and wrong. Perhaps I should have been a wrestling coach.

 

With every parental behavior being monitored, it can be overwhelming as a parent trying to map out every possible consequence to an action. Not every bad behavior can be stopped. After all, kids are learning right and wrong by pushing the limits, but I have found that setting the example can be a big part of teaching kids how to be respectful to those around them.

 

What’s one action that gets you into trouble with the kids?

 

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