Beware: The baby lions are watching you
Min Atek
What you need to know:
Standing in the sitting room, the three-year-old boy asked his father to take a photo of him. With a towel around his waist, he said he wanted to be his like daddy.
The father smiled. Unknown to him, the little boy had been observing and learning. I do not like the phrase that monkey see monkey do, but I agree with the truth it carries.
As a mother whose children have grown from little beings into fully fledged teenagers, I have realised that perhaps the most effective way of impacting behaviour and instilling manners is by doing rather than talking and instructing.
The two years of being with the children at home because of the extended school lockdowns have stretched me to the core. Going to school had hidden the fact that having and being with the children every single day, can have its toll on a parent’s mental well-being.
When they were actively in school two years ago, the responsibility of raising them was shared between home and school. With school closure, parents became caretakers, teachers and had to play the parenting roles.
Initially, you would find yourself bellowing out instructions upon instructions, which were often ignored leading to frustration and exasperation.
Out of this same frustration, I began to do some of the things I was tasking the children to do. I would clean up the bathroom and the kitchen thoroughly at the same intervals, daily. I deliberately decided to behave and act a certain way.
Days and weeks later, it was almost automatic that the children started to follow suit. They started to clean like I was cleaning and to pay some more attention. Of course, there were lapses, but it seemed to yield more than the previous strategies. There is an opportunity to factor in some deliberate habits to up our parenting game.
This is the time to impact and impart into the lives of our children. Let the children see you bake a cake, spring clean the house and donate things to those less advantaged than you are. May they see you love on your elderly parents and be hands-on.
May the children see you walk the talk; clean and cut the bushes around your home and disinfect the drainage in your neighborhood. The baby lions you are raising will be great adult lions as they watch the lion in you roaring out loud while making a huge positive impact in your home and wider community.
