Often times I sit around an think about what sort of influence I am really having on my children. They are fed, clothed and supported by my husband and I, but are they really being molded by our actions? What sort of influence are we having on them in comparison to their peers and the culture that we live in? Are we making a big enough difference? These thoughts bother me when they are doing things that drive me mad, such as fighting me about chores or homework. Then I have moments where I am relieved because I see them do amazing selfless acts of kindness with no prompting.
La, has recently been begging me to bake cookies on her own in my kitchen. She over the weekend made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and then shared them with the rest of the neighborhood. All the kids loved them, except one. He wasn't allowed to have any because he is gluten intolerant.
The fact that her friend was not allowed to have her cookies made La pretty upset. Not to mention that I am sure that her friend was pretty upset seeing all the other kids in the neighborhood getting treats that he wasn't allowed to have. This situation sent La into action. She told her friends mom that she wanted to bake him cookies that he could have. Luckily, his mom had the ingredient on hand for gluten free chocolate chip cookies.
She mixed them up under my supervision. I only watched because I wanted to make sure she followed the directions carefully because we both had never baked gluten free before. She then tested the dough before she baked them making a "ewww" face.
I then reminded her "You know, you're doing a very kind thing!"
To which she responded by saying "By making really bad cookies..."
To which I burst out laughing. Then gathering myself, I told her they would probably taste better when they were baked, which they did.
Her friend was overjoyed to get cookies all to himself that La had baked. Then that is when it clicked for me. Although, she has always had a kind heart, she has also always seen kindness modeled for her. If anyone has ever been in need, my husband and I are always willing to lend a hand. I am not trying to toot my own horn. In fact, I think being kind is just a basic part of being a good human being. It has always been something that I strive to be in my daily life.
Now, I have seen some pretty awful things adults do to each other. Our children see pretty horrible things in life, on the news and portrayed on television every day. As parents can we do enough to outweigh the influence the outside world has on our kids? Can we model the behavior that we want our children to repeat? Can we make our kids be a positive influence in a seriously flawed world? I think we can. Although sometimes it can be difficult to see it when they are throwing a tweenaged tantrum about how the world isn't fair because they need to clean their room, they really are soaking in the lessons that we are teaching them. I just hope that I can keep up with the lessons I need to teach them.
