Children are very easily influenced by their parents. If you lash out when mad your child will pick up on the same bad habits. If you praise a child for getting good grades and not studying they learn results matter more than the process which leads to procrastination in their later years.

Any and everything you do around a child has an impact on them without even knowing. My parents had me when they were 20 so they were kind of thrown into parenthood and because of that I picked up a lot of habits I wished I hadn’t.

Teach your child how to be themselves, not your child. Teach your kids about everything, even stuff against your beliefs. If they don’t learn it from you it’ll be from someone else. Praise them for studying for that test even if they didn’t get the best grade. Critique them for not disciplining themselves. A lot of kids look up to and follow their parents even when they hurt them time and time again. Why would you want to put your child through that cycle of pain? A world of suffering that neither of you are aware of. Realize how you affect your child before they do.

Family is forever but that’s not an excuse to mistreat your child. You’re supposed to be there when no one else is. If you don’t have their back, who does?

• Cameron – SYC Intern