I truly believe that parenting is a leadership exercise. We are responsible for teaching and mentoring our children, we are their leaders. The mentoring part is so important because they learn more by watching what we do than they do from us instructing them.

Some behaviors are taught, but most of them are caught. There are times when we put pressure on our children to behave better than we ourselves do. But we have to remember that in the parent-child relationship all of the responsibility to act like an adult belongs to the parent.

So ask yourself what are your kids learning from you?

Does it bother you when your kids leave lights on in a room? Ask yourself if you always turn the lights when you leave a room. Does it bother you when they slam doors? Ask yourself if you slam doors shut. Do you get frustrated when you call them and they don’t stop what they’re doing and give you their full attention? Ask yourself where they learned that. Are you putting your phone down when your kids come to you for help? Are you engaging them when they call your name?

Our kids are always watching what we do and learning from us, so we better lead them well.