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By Dr James Dobson
Do you want to see what kind of men and women your children will grow up to be? Take a look in the mirror.
A wise man once said: "The footsteps a child follows are often those that the father thought he covered up." How true that is. There are facts we can pass on to our children and skills we can teach; but how our children really learn is by watching us and observing our every move; by absorbing what we do and who we are.
Someone once said: "Values are not taught to kids; they're caught by them." They're picked up routinely through the subtle influences of simply being together through the day.
A poem by Herbert Parker sums it up best. He said:
"To get his goodnight kiss he stood
beside my chair one night,
and raised an eager face to me,
a face with love alight.
And as I gathered in my arms
the son God gave to me,
I thanked the lad for being good
and hoped he'd always be. "
His little arms crept round my neck
and then I heard him say,
four simple words I can't forget;
four words that made me pray.
They turned a mirror on my soul,
on secrets no one knew.
They startled me, I hear them yet.
He said: 'I'll be like you.'"
Do you still think what you do as a mother or father doesn't really matter? It does. Believe me, it does.
From TODAY, Voices – Tuesday, 23-Jun-2009
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