Sometimes we parents can accidentally pass on our bad habits to our kids. I call this second hand bad habit smoke. Read on…
Last Thursday evening, my 3 year old son ( Ari Salmansohn ) came home from daycare, plopped himself down on our sofa, let out a loud sigh, then announced…
“Geez. I had a loooooong day!”
Ari’s proclamation was then followed by another heavy sigh.
It was funny (at first) to hear my toddler talk like a groaning grown up.
But then it occurred to me who the groaning grown up was that taught my son to complain about his loooong day at daycare.
And yep, I am an inspirational author – who is supposed to recognize the benefits of choosing happy, positive, energizing words.
Although I don’t remember complaining about my looooong day in front of my son, I figured these whiny words must have come from me – because that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of that particular week had been extra-crunchy busy – with me juggling a few writing projects at the same time.
When I heard my groaning grown up words being spewed by my little guy, I gotta say, I didn’t like it.
I realized in that moment how I needed to give up this bad habit.
Not only because it’s bad for me to end my day whining about battle-fatigue.
But I also want to protect my 3 year old son from making this his habit as well.
Basically, I don’t want my son to pick up my “second hand bad habit smoke” – which I send out into the world every time I complain out loud about my day in front of my son.
We all know that smoking cigarettes bad for your health.
Smoking has deleterious effects on whoever is exposed to one’s second hand smoke.
For this reason, a parent who smokes needs to be especially careful about not lighting up in front of their children.
This same awareness applies to making sure we parents do NOT expose our children to our other bad habits as well.
After all, our children can easily inhale “second hand bad habit smoke” – and suffer the negative consequences.
It’s not just what we tell our kids that they learn.
Basically, whatever we parents do around our children they eventually inhale into their system.
With this in mind, here’s a list of bad habits we parents need to watch out for – so our kids don’t wind up inhaling our “second hand bad habit smoke.”
1. Gossiping
2. Texting during a meal
3. Spending too much time on the computer
4. Being sarcastic during a conflict
5. Swearing
6. Complaining too much
7. Eating too much junk food
8. Belittling or yelling at our partner
9. Ignoring/not listening to our partner
10. Laziness
11. Expressing lack of faith and hope
12. Being constantly negative about things
13. Displaying addictions of any kind
14. Showing angry impatience
15. Expressing lack of forgiveness and compassion – for ourselves, for our partner, for others
I’d love to hear your insights on the comment section below!
What’s something which comes to your mind and heart when you read my essay? Be specific! Share your personal story or a personal happiness tool!
Think about subscribing for free weekly tools here.
No SPAM, ever! Read the Privacy Policy for more information.
