6 Good Habits Kids Learn Best by Example
When I was a few months pregnant my second child, I started noticing that my two-year-old son would grunt every time he bent over to pick something up. And then it hit me; he was mimicking the noises I would make as I waddled around the house picking up his toys. It was at that moment that I realized just how perceptive kids are and how much they learn through the actions of others. Wanting to raise my children to the best of my abilities, I’ve decided to try and teach them these 6 good habits through example.
I received compensation in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
6 Good Habits Kids Learn Best by Example
1. Loving others: I remember growing up in a home where I would see my parents show their love through holding hands, hugging, and occasionally kissing. Although as a small kid I thought it was absolutely disgusting, I’ve come to appreciate this love that they showed to each other. This lesson taught me to choose kindness over violence when interacting with friends, siblings, relatives, and peers.
2. Serving: I was blessed to be raised by parents who served others daily. I constantly witnessed acts of kindness such as taking dinner to neighbors or baking cookies for the mailman. Trying to involve our whole family in service, my parents were able to teach me that true happiness is felt when making others happy.
3. Brushing teeth: Although making your children brush their teeth can be a difficult chore, I’ve found that if my children notice me brushing my teeth, they often ask if they can brush theirs as well.
4. Using kind words: My three-year-old is like a parrot in the sense that I constantly hear him repeating the words that come out of my mouth. Because I find him using a lot of my same phrases, I’ve had to re-evaluate my language. I find that when I make a conscience effort to speak kindly, I hear him repeating these same words of love.
5. Washing hands: Washing hands with your children (and allowing them to see you wash your hands) helps them always remember the importance of scrubbing away those germs.
6. Applying sunscreen: I’ve spent the past three summers living in the Arizona heat. Wanting to protect my entire family from the sun, I’ve come to realize the importance of daily sunscreen application – for both parents and kids.
Did you know that even just 1-2 bad sunburns as a child almost doubles your risk of skin cancer? Neutrogena realizes the importance of sun protection for the entire family. That’s why Neutrogena has launched its #MimicMommy campaign, designed to encourage mothers to use sunscreen in front of their children; afterall the best way for kids to learn sun-safe habits is by watching parents apply sunscreen on themselves.
In honor of the #MimicMommy campaign, Neutrogena has teamed up with Kristen Bell to create this comical video rallying parents about the best way to have “The Talk” with their kids. For every video share, Neautrogena will donate $1 (up to $15,000) to the Children’s Melanoma Prevention Fund. So hurry, watch this video and share!
Good advice – thank you for sharing at #HomeMattersparty
Thank you for joining us at Thoughts of Home.
Laura
White Spray Paint
I love this! A great reminder that we parents are always being watched and emulated, and our children learn best from what we do and say. Thanks so much for sharing this!
It is really important to provide a good example for your children. The best way to get my kids to brush their teeth is to brush mine with them.
Kids mimic everything it seems like. You have to definitely be careful and set the example.
I’ve always made sure to lead my kids by example. That is one of the best wasy to teach after all.
Kids are like a sponge and always want to copy you. These are all great habits for kids to learn.
Sunscreen is such an important habit for kids to learn. I always try to teach by example.
This is all so true, all kids learn by watching us as we are their first example to look up to. I love this post!
I love this post! These are all so true too. Kids really do learn by example. We have to set those examples because they love to do what we do.
Brushing teeth is definitely something that must be lead by example. I remember dreading to brush my teeth at night – but I saw my older siblings doing their daily rituals so I would follow suit.
I love Kristen Bell! She always makes me laugh. Sunscreen is so important. I always applied on my children and now I do so with my grandchildren. I wish I would’ve Used it more myself when I was young and worshiping the sun.
It’s amazing how much kids pick up on that we do. These are all great suggestions. I would also add picking up after ourselves as we go.
Love these tips!! It really is amazing how much our kids mimic what we do and do as we do, so much better to lead by example not as I say!
My niece actually is the police when it comes to sunscreen because we all emphasized its’ importance when she was younger. She’ll walk up to a complete stranger and ask if they’re ‘protected’!
That is super funny about your son grunting like you were! And you’re right, there are so many good habits to teach kids when they’re little. A big one for us is reading, showing our toddlers and preschoolers that grownups get quiet reading time, plus having newspapers, magazine and books out in our home.
Those are all great suggestions to do. I think the most important one is to show love.