Don't worry about seeing the evidence of what you're teaching your kids right away. I don't know how many times I say, "ZOE!!! Speak with kindness..." Or, "Asher, can you thank him?" Or even, "Willow, don't yank the dog's tail again!"
It seems as if all I ever do is remind remind remind them to have good manners and stand up for the person getting beat down and to not call their sibling out all the time and...
But I'm not reminding them.
I'm teaching them.
It's so frustrating to repeat yourself so often but it serves a purpose. They'll remember as they grow older, and as adults when you see your children show kindness as part of their character and instinctually fight for justice, you'll be able to see that it was all worth it. Your consistency and love (and tears while you hid in the bathroom SURE you were screwing them up) paid off.
As they grow, you'll start to EXPECT to see it, but now while they're little we just need to be consistent with our reminders and slow with our anger. We need to really look at them and help them learn as opposed to beating lessons into their heads. Because if we have to beat it into their heads it isn't a lesson it's a punishment.
Let's not expect adult behavior from children.
Let's not expect instant results from our parenting.
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