"They are watching you and they will copy you, so be careful to exemplify the behavior you want to see in them."
This is always such a sobering thought to me. Every time I start seeing attitudes arise, or quarrels between themselves, I try to take a look at my own attitude. I set the tone of my home and usually, without even knowing it, I have allowed myself to be grumpy over some situation or snappy in some way towards someone. That is the bad side of this truth. The good side of this truth is that they also watch and emulate you when you speak a kind word, do something productive, have a sweet attitude, or do something thoughtful. They notice and they copy.
Since deleting social media I have been writing many more letters than I used to and also journaling more and keeping a better hard copy of what we do and my ideas and thoughts on things. My children have since started picking up the habit. One of the things that pushed me to delete my social media was this very fact. The children wanted to do what I was doing and I realized I did not want social media to be part of their lives. They wanted a phone since they saw me on mine and, "it looked so fun!" as they put it. I realized this was not the behavior I wanted to model for my children or the example I wanted them to follow.
My phone usage has gone to 1/6th (one-sixth!!!!! how is that even possible?!) of what it was before I deleted social media. That is a huge drop and one I am very happy about. I feel like the sweetness of life I've felt this year has been directly related to this in many ways. My contribution to others in real life has increased and my ability to do work that really matters to me has also increased. I have renewed ideas and stamina for the ones in front of me.
The other day my daughter decided to take up journaling and of her own accord, went and made a cup of tea and sat at the table writing. I passed by and had to smile to myself. She did exactly what she has been seeing me do and it just warmed me all over. This is the example I want to set. These are the worthwhile things I want to invest in. These are the forms of self-expression I want them to copy.
