Kids do listen when we talk

• Share This Post
• submit
• 0
• Sparkle (
  0
  )
   

Kids do listen when we talk

(cross posted at http://familyinshape.typepad.com)

Have you ever heard a toddler, your toddler, repeating a word you clearly should not have said during a moment of frustration?  Well, I have.  More times than I care to remember, I have wiggled my way out of a potential "bad" word in front of my kids.  I admit that dropping an object on my toe has caused me to say the "S" word outloud only to find out that my little man was not far behind all too ready to repeat that word clearly as if he had been saying it all along.  So sometimes Sh*t becomes shhugar and of course he doesn't bother with that one.  How do they know?  It's amazing.  

Aside from the occasional slip of the tounge, I mostly try to talk to my kids about the benefits of good nutrition, about reading the food labels and what those things mean, about wellness, fitness, sleeping, hygene and being happy.  These are the times when I want them to really listen to me and remember what I said.  I think most parents would agree that these little details are learned at home right along with the morals and values that will make them super fantastic human beings.  

I sometimes wonder if they hear what I say, if they care, if they even remember it later.  Sometimes I get a nod or an "I know mom" and sometimes I get a little undivided attention (such a thrill when that happens).  Still I don't know how much of what I say sticks and becomes the source for making decisions later.

Three things happened today which made me proud to have talked to the back of my kids' head because today they made me proud.

1.  My son has had acne, on and off or more on than off he would say, for several years now. As a teen  I remember being told to wash regularly, change my pillow case frequently, don't use the same face cloth twice and treat my condition with whatever stuff was given to me at the time.  It took me a while to realize or admit my parents were right.  So I passed along the same routine to my son and it took him a while as well but still I persisted and reminded him to follow the routine.  He finally found a product that works well with his schedule, his habits and his skin.  He said to me the other day when I complimented his skin that he followed my advise and was staying on top of