Recently I passed a boy of six or seven walking alongside a policeman. I’m not sure what conversation preceded this comment from the boy—“My dad is super fast!!!”—but the admiration for his dad was so evident.
As I walked on, I found myself wondering whether his dad was aware that he was a hero to his son…perhaps even a superhero! And whether he was taking advantage of this opportunity to talk to his son about what was important about growing up and being in the world.
I believe that we have influence with our children at every age—even as they become young adults and beyond. Still, there is no denying this special time in life when they respect us, look up to us, and take everything that we say and do so seriously.
What do you want your children to learn from you? What do you want them to learn about life and about how to deal with the world?
What do you want your kids to think about themselves? What qualities and characteristics do you want to reinforce?
You have the opportunity to make a conscious choice about what you want your kids to hear from you.
— excerpts from pages 4–5
Remembering how much they look up to us is one way to be more conscious of what we are saying to them.
Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
—Robert Fulghum, American author
