Thursday Thought and Theory

Thought: How many things do our children learn from us through example, or simpling by telling them?

This thought came to me the other day. This time of year, we all hear coughing and sneezing on a regular bases. My son Porter is no exception. I noticed a while back that whenever he sneezed, he would bless himself. "Bless me"., he would say. I of course thought that it was a cute response and never corrected him that someone else should be the one blessing him. However, like I said the other day I got thinking, how come he blesses himself? He didn't learn that through example of anyone I knew. The more I thought about it, I soon realized that young children not only learn from our example, but also by what we tell them to say or do. Often they don't know why we tell them to do things, they just do it. For example I have seen parents, myself included, tell a child to "wave good-bye" or "Say your sorry." And other small demands that will teach children. So I can't help wonder if that is why Porter says "Bless me." whenever he sneezes. Instead of me teaching through example which was intended, he was taught through a demand. "A-choo!" From Porter, I would then respond, "Bless You!" Porter's young mind then formed what I had just said as a demand. Therefore he soon learned that whenever he sneezed he should bless himself because that was what he was taught to do.

So I wonder...Why is it so hard for a teenager to learn the same way? Why can't they just take your small demands and just do what we say without asking questions, and just do it?