“On the first day of school, a kindergarten student handed his teacher a note from his mother which read, ‘The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.'” ~ Unknown
It is amazing how much education can get undone in one short summer. That is one of the reasons, by the way, for the rather regular push toward year round education. They say that year round education helps to eliminate the summer learning drop. That is also one of the reasons why so many schools give their students summer packets with all sorts of things that they need to work on in order to keep their minds sharp.
Children learn — and unlearn — all sorts of things in the home while outside of school. The home, after all, is the primary place for education and the parents are the primary educators. That is why the claim of the parent above is entirely bogus. The opinions expressed by the child are most likely exactly that of the parents since children mimic everything that they hear and see.
That is why we need to be so cautious about what we show at home. We need to model the values that we want our children to learn since children learn by watching and following our examples. If our children do or say something that does not please us, we cannot be so quick to blame their actions on peers or others outside the home. Sometimes, that might be true. However, the first thing we need to do is ask, “Did my child learn that from me?”
We need to live a very cautious life since everything that we say and do is being observed — and many times mimicked — by impressionable minds.
FAITH ACTION: Think carefully about what it is you want to teach and then make sure that your actions reflect your beliefs.