The power of example

About a year ago we had a funny incident which taught us the power of example.

My wife was working with our older two daughters, who were then 8 and 10 at the time. Our youngest, who was four, came into the kitchen and asked for some "homework." My wife made suggestions of other things that the 4 year old could do, but the little girl was insistent that she wanted "homework." My wife reluctantly dug out a simple worksheet, (color the triangles, find the picture that is different, and so on) and gave it to our youngest daughter.

Our little girl sat down and immediately began to complain about the assignment. My wife was puzzled. My wife responded by telling the 4 year old that she didn't have to do it and to go play. Our youngest then gave my wife this crestfallen look and said "But Mommy, when the big girls complain, you make them do their homework." My wife finally understood what the child wanted. In a stern voice my wife responded, "Do your homework."

Our young daughter gave my wife a radiant smile and began coloring on the worksheet.

My wife then turned back to the older girls and commented, "The good news is that by following your example your younger sister wants to do schoolwork. The bad news is that she thinks she needs to complain about it first."


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