What am I teaching my children without saying a word?

Seated across the room was a table of three; two gentlemen who were talking non-stop and a boy aged about five.

The place was loud and on the four television screens across the room, was a football match.

The little boy was following the match keenly and every so often, he would arise from his chair and raise his hands over his head.

It appeared he had become a loyal supporter of his father’s football team, who would often break from his loud conversation with his friend and give heated and passionate advice to the men playing football on the screen.

Although watching him was interesting, I mean the way he was screaming and engaging in heated debate, what stood out for me the most, was the little fellow he seemed to have coached into acting exactly like himself without even knowing it.

I smiled! 

Oftentimes I stand on life’s sidelines and observe and study human behaviour. I often ponder and contemplate over many situations.

I watch at the street corner and learn by observing. It is called street wisdom. It is everywhere and it actively teaches whoever cares to pay attention.

Then I ask myself, what am I teaching my children without saying a word? What is the fragrance and vibe that is flowing out of my spirit into their spirits?

The fact of the matter is that whether I like it or not, whether I know it or I do not, whether I acknowledge it or I do not, everything about me is teaching, illustrating and impacting my children.

The way I speak and what I speak.

The way I laugh out loud, the way I communicate both verbally and non-verbally, each and everything about me physical and otherwise, has direct and indirect impact on my children.

What a responsibility, what a task!

If there is any initial indoctrination, it starts at the base. Like the little boy who knew that he must lift his hands up while thumping his chest and letting out loud screams each time his father’s team scored a goal, all children are observing and learning.

The home, our initial and most credible school of all time. Our teachers teach whether they purpose to or not.

Even their inactivity and dormancy teaches us to follow in their footsteps or to path out a completely different angle.

May the eyes of our understanding be opened to the magnitude of the weight of the responsibility every adult has in their areas of influence. We are creatures of habit and adaptation, learning from our environment at all times.