"Kids do what their parents do and not what they say"

I have noticed that in my 4-year-old. She does everything that she sees me do.  Now I am more careful about what I do and still very careful about what I say--because she has repeated some things that she shouldn't have.

"Kids do what their parents do and not what they say"

Until they reach 12 and they they do everything opposite because they dont want to be like parents

Then they reach 25 or so and start having kids and hope that they can be totally different than their parents.

Then their kids reach 7 or 8 and they find themselves behaving EXACTLY like their parents.. and a 'reality smack' hits them when they realize they just said something their mom always said to them * chuckle*
( IE; you know what thought did !!--- If everyone jumped off a bridge would you too?')

Then they get to about 30 and wonder how their parents ever managed kids without Valium *s*

This is one of my all time favourite quotes and it was my sister that said it to me, when I worried that maybe I wasnt being a good enough parent *s*

                                 "A good parent is someone who gives their children everything that they can.
                            A successful~ parent is someone who gave their kids a better childhood than they had"

Good words of wisdom huh ?

true... until they pass "phalic-oedipal" stage by Freud, kids will see their parents as role model but after that stage they will see other people that are significance to them as their role model, like their teacher, etc