The most important task for a parent is to provide a positive role model for their children.
They will know they are doing the right thing if they can do this, and their children will grow up to be decent people if they can do it as much as possible. Of course, mistakes and challenges will arise, but if you keep the principle of leading by example at the forefront of your mind, you will be able to do so the vast majority of the time.
There are, however, a plethora of negative habits that we all fall prey to from time to time. Some of these must be stopped immediately if you wish to set a positive example for your children. Continue reading to learn more.
Drugs And AlcoholÂ
Drugs should never be used, and alcohol should never be used excessively. They can both severely harm your body and mind, sometimes irreparably, and even if your health does not suffer, your relationships, particularly those with your children, might suffer. You may even lose all touch with them because the things you are taking transform you into someone who is just repulsive to be around.
Quitting these behaviors (which can quickly turn into addictions) will not always be simple, but it must be done. Make sure you ask for assistance; chat with a medical professional or therapist, ask family members to assist you, or research rehabs and enroll in one that will work for you. If you go ‘cold turkey,’ you may become extremely unwell, so avoid this if possible and get the help you need.
Negative Self-Talk
It’s all too easy to slip into the trap of negative self-talk; we’ll see something about ourselves that we don’t like and then start telling ourselves about it. We’ll keep telling ourselves that we’re stupid, ugly, obese, useless, and so on.
This kind of negative self-talk is harmful to everyone. It isn’t helpful since it continuously puts you down and makes you feel low, if not depressed. It also doesn’t help your children who look up to you since they don’t like to hear negative things about their parents (even if it comes from the parent), and it may cause them to doubt their own talents and appearance. Keep a good attitude at all times, and your children will follow suit.
Your Smartphone
Smartphones are certainly addictive, even if we don’t know why. We can’t seem to stop even if we just keep looking at the same messages and social media feeds over and over again. We must, however, try to limit this. Spending time with your children is essential, as is creating special memories that they can look back on and feel good about when they are older. They must believe they can come to you at any time and speak to you about anything.
They won’t be able to do that if you’re continuously preoccupied with your phone, and any memories they form will be of you looking at a screen. Nobody wants that to happen, therefore kick the habit before they’re too old to care.