It’s only taken us about nine years. But we’re finally realizing that our kids are super malleable and impressionable. You read about it all the time – kids will imitate their parents, but we’ve always been a little skeptical.
Yet, if mom and dad use bad words, the kids will let them slip as well (but hopefully not in front of the teacher). If mom and dad read a lot, the kiddies will read a lot. If dad is addicted to his iphone, the kids will steal his iphone and become addicted to it, too.
Yesterday, we had broccoli with dinner. I’ll admit that it’s not the most popular side dish in our house. But my husband and I have recently noticed that our little Sophie is a copycat, and she’s been displaying more interest in tasting whatever we have on our plates. So we went the broccoli route last night.
And because Sophie seems to be a little more attached to me than usual, when she saw me grab a spear, she pointed to it and asked to have some. I happily gave her a piece (I’m really not a big fan of broccoli, but hell, I’ll do what it takes for my girls) and she ate it. And asked for more. And more. It was a win-win for both of us.
She now proclaims that she likes broccoli as much as carrots. Whoopee.