If your answer is "Hmmm. . ." you're not alone! For most American parents, the thought of adding one more thing to their already-long list of chores is virtually unbearable. Without a daily investment of time, attention, and effort on your part, your child will never pick up all you hope to teach them. You must dedicate the time.
But I'm Not a Teacher!
Many parents feel inadequate when considering their responsibility to teach their children. Yet educators all speak of the fact that nothing they teach children in a classroom has nearly the effect of a parent's teaching in the home. If you are a parent, you are a teacher. Think of all the things you've already taught your child: the intricacies of every family, your values and beliefs, what to do or not to do in a given situation. You communicated so many "firsts" to your child - whether you realize it or not. We teach our children both positive and negative things about life: whom to trust and whom to hate, how to share and how to get your own way, how to help others and how to hurt them. Certainly, other people also contribute to our children's development. But as parents, we are the primary teachers of what this business of living is all about.
Your decision to think about what you say and do each day makes it easy to see why your children say and do what they do each day.
(excerpted from Giving Your Child the Excellence Edge, Tyndale, 2004)