If you use teachable moments, you must “practice what you preach”
because kids copy the things you do as well as the things you say.
I share these memories to illustrate the point:
Kendrick will be our son who is most likely to be “monkey see, monkey do.”
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Whenever 3-year-old Justin wants to play a computer game, he finds the CD-ROM
and gives it to his twin brother, Kendrick. Kendrick then opens the drive, puts
in the disc, clicks through the “my computer” and “drive D”
icons until the game is opened. He has even successfully loaded a computer game
all by himself. I once found him frustrated that he couldn’t reconfigure
the display settings to successfully play an older game.
I never taught him to do this on his own; in fact, the twins aren’t allowed
to play on the computer without supervision. He learned nevertheless by watching
me. He soaked it all in with his eyes, and when given the chance, he repeated
what he saw. All things considered, CD-ROM loading is a good skill to learn.
Kendrick also picks up bad skills in the same way. One day my husband fixed
the toilet. Kendrick watched him try to unclog the line by donning latex gloves
and using his hands. Now at least once a day, I catch Kendrick shoving things
down the toilet, and most of the time it’s his arm. Fortunately, he has
also learned to flush first.
Kendrick is also the one who imitates compassion. If I fall down, he is the
one who helps me up and kisses the “owie.” For all his quietness,
when Kendrick does speak, he tries to repeat the phrases and intonations that
he has heard. When he’s angry, he’ll put his hands on his hips,
look you in the eye and say, “You’re not hearing to me!”
For good or bad, Kendrick will be our son who is most likely to be “monkey
see, monkey do.” It’s up to me to make sure the things he sees are
godly and the things he hears are worth repeating.
