I’m pretty confident when I say I have most things under control at home. But when it comes to driving, that’s where I fail miserably. I got my driving license 10 years years ago, and by right, driving to me should be easy peasy by now. But just like teaching a child to ride a bike, we all know that practice makes perfect. And that sums up why I’m so lousy at it because no drive equals no practice.
Over the weekends, I had to drive. Had to because my dear husband extracted two of his wisdom teeth and was feeling very uncomfortable behind the wheels. So as his wife, here’s when I have to rise to the occasion to relieve him. So I agreed to take over, grudgingly.
My little back seat driver was observing me and parroting Alexis’s instructions to me to slow down, drive straight, don’t turn so fast. Sensing that I was getting more and more frustrated as I drove, she told me, “Mummy, don’t drive until so angry. Just drive. Drive slowly okay.” In my head, I thinking that having her in the car is such a bad idea as she’s seeing the worst of me.
At some point when I have to manuveour between changing gears and the hand brakes to go up a slope, I nearly burst out crying and exclaimed exasperatedly at my husband and child, “I’m trying, I trying my best ok!”
And my dear 4-year old said gold that afternoon.
”Yes, mummy, you must try. Most important is to try and you will learn. This is what you taught me, right?”
Upon hearing her reminder, my heart swelled with pride as tears started to well up in my eyes, and all I wanted to do was to hug my little cheer leader for her encouragement. It was a precious and teachable moment for me, as I was reminded of how I am my child’s greatest role model. My constant reminders to Sophie to keep trying and give her best didn’t fall on deaf ears as she was now teaching mummy the same lesson about tenacity and not giving up.
As parents, we have tremendous influence on our children’s life. And the words I say or even the unspoken body language on how I react to stressful, tough situations do not go unnoticed by my child’s watchful eye. I pray I will never be the parent who says, “Do what I say, not what I do.” That’s why it’s important to be aware of how we are behaving in front of our kids so that, we, ourselves model the kind of person we would like to raise them up to be.
I’m still a work in progress and hope that Sophie sees that as we all learn to be a better person each day.
How are you a role model for your child?
This is an original post by Susan Koh for World Moms Blog. She’s loves to travel and blogs passionately about parenting, marriage and relationship and leading a healthy life at www.ajugglingmom.com.
Photo credit to the author.
Hi Susan!
Yes, everything we say and do kids absorb like sponges! I think the biggest take away I want my girls to model is how I treat people.
Great reminder, Susan!!
Jen 🙂
Thanks Jennifer. Knowing that I’m watched by my girl does keeps me on my toes!
So true Susan! So wonderful that Sophie gave you that gentle reminder just when you needed it most. Now you should go out and keep practicing your driving, so hat you can show her what perseverance can achieve. Good luck! 😀
Thanks Maman, I will do so. Wish me luck!
So true, Susan! Thank you SO much for this post!
I’m sending you a big hug, Susan, because I know exactly how you feel! I also avoid driving as much as possible!
What I love is that we learn as much (if not more) from our children than we teach them! 🙂
My son is already 20 years old and my daughter is 17. They’ve seen me overcome Clinical Depression and are seeing me cope with Fibromyalgia pain and fatigue every day. I hope that what they’re learning from me is to persevere no matter what. You can’t control the the cards Life deals you, but you CAN control the way YOU play the Game!
I got my license when I was in college. And guess what, I dont let my husband get his wisdom extracted without getting a part time driver … lol! Ok, jokes apart, I am a lousy driver too. And I so much relate to your frustration.
And I also relate to the other part, of your child seeing you as your role model. Once I was telling my husband, I just cant do something, because I am not capable. And my son immediately piped in – Mom, but you said, there is nothing which one person cant do which another can. And so you must keep trying until you can master it or lose interest. And I was happy that my words had not fallen on deaf ears 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful post!
Great job to you, both for showing your children your human-ness and for teaching them great lessons. For me, I try to be a role model by living how I want them to live and admitting when I am failing. I am very honest about my mistakes and will apologize if I do wrong by them. I want them to know we all have strengths and weaknesses, and we all make mistakes. But we are in this thing together, and how we handle our mistakes and learn from them is what matters.