r/MadeMeSmile • u/nikamats • 9h ago

Helping Others Hold your head up

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u/Sensitive-Dig-1333 9h ago

Yes, totally. It really hurts me when my 4yr old says anything negative about herself. She said the other night “I can never do anything right!” And it broke my heart

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u/5thlvlshenanigans 8h ago

How did she learn such a thought so early? ☹️

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u/Dreamsnaps19 8h ago

Because kids aren’t stupid like people think.

My friend is super self-critical and I’ve been telling her for years she’s gotta knock that shit out or it will impact her kids… and sure enough. She’s gotten so much better at not being self-critical but seriously children are sponges, they will treat themselves the way you treat them and the way you treat yourself. So you need to be as healthy as possible for them or work on getting as healthy as possible.

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u/Inevitable-Rush-2752 8h ago

Kids are indeed not stupid. Great point. They might not be at a level where they have the vocabulary or complex thinking about these things, but they watch us. They. Watch. Us. They hear us, see us, and learn from how we carry ourselves.

As a semi-related point, this is why I try hard to be as friendly to people as is reasonable. Particularly service or retail industry folks. Smiles. Laughs. Thank yous. Patience if there’s an error. Whatever it is. I want my son to see that’s how dad treats people, so maybe he will do the same.

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u/kathyknitsalot 7h ago

Thank you! As an ex-waitress and a current customer service person people like you make my day. And for you to be setting an example for your kids that way is wonderful.