Walk the Talk

There is an anonymous saying: “Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.”  Many adults are not fully aware of nor appreciate the turbo charged learning ability of young children.  With little language ability, “a picture is worth a thousand words” becomes a viable learning model for them.  Not surprising, parents and other family members are the most often view “pictures” in their world.

Parenting and caring for youngsters is a 24/7 non-stop job.  You are being scrutinized by the youngsters.  Along with the pictures, young children hear the spoken words of the other “grown-ups.”  They will have difficulty learning when deeds and words don’t match.  The words of Horton the elephant in Dr. Suess’s “Horton Hatches the Egg” serves as a practical guide: “I meant what I said and I said what I meant.  An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent.”

The inconvenient reality is that double standards exist.  But it should be noted these are the direct result of a basic choice: You can be a Horton or you can be a non-Horton.  Things can be so much simpler if you say what you mean and mean what you say.  And there is an old saying “Actions speak louder than words.”

When it comes to education, teaching by example is a tried and true method that has stood the test of time.  The practitioners of “Do as I say and not as I do” send mixed messages to young learners.  Consistency between deeds and words allows young children to recognize patterns that shape their behavior and learning.  These patterns help them to forecast and predict events in their daily lives.  Certainly there will be changes and variations.  For example, sunrise is the end of night and the start of a new day.  The sky becomes lighter and brighter in the morning.  But if storm clouds are present, the morning sky will be darker, but the night is still ending.  Most of us realize it is still the start of a new day.

Consistency is a challenge for everyone especially after a long tiring day.  But parenting and teaching require constant diligence during a child’s formative years.  What happens in the child’s first three years sets the tone for learning for the rest of their lives.