I was talking to a woman who has lost the use of one of her arms and hands. She lamented how difficult it has been to live her life without the use of her arm and hand. She talked about how difficult it has been to learn how to tie her shoes with one hand. She described her cooking. After she puts something in a pan, the pan moves all over the top of the stove in response to her movements with her good hand and her inability to stabilize the pan with her dysfunctional hand.
Then she told me about her child who has learn by imitating her. She noticed that her child learned to tie her shoes with one hand. Then she noticed that her daughter cooked on the stove with one hand just as her mother. She noticed that her daughter was cooking by using one hand even though the pan slid all over the surface of the stove.
Then she concluded that her daughter was learning to use only one hand in coping with activities in her life. After this realization, she told her daughter that she had two good hands and needed to use both of them. Then she explained that she had only used one hand, because of her injury.
It was very apparent that her daughter had learned to imitate her behavior without any awareness of why she was doing so.
This brought to my mind, what occurred in my life when I began driving. Proudly, I was sitting behind the wheel on my first attempt at driving. I began driving. I was turning the steering wheel right and left as I had seen my father do. I was just making the movements for no reason at all. Probably out of disbelief and fear for his life, he asked me what I was doing. I explained to him that I was driving like I had seen him drive. Then he informed me that I needed to only make adjustments by turning the steering wheel corresponding to the road and driving conditions.
I had learned to imitate my father's driving, but had no idea why he made the movements and adjustments that he did.
It is important to remember that children imitate adults and their parents. They will blindly imitate behavior with no understanding of why they are doing what they are doing. As parents, we need to talk and explain to children why we are doing what we do. This information will help children have a good understanding of what they are imitating by observing us.
Remember, Children Will Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!
I was talking to a woman who has lost the use of one of her arms and hands. She lamented how difficult it has been to live her life without the use of her arm and hand. She talked about how difficult it has been to learn how to tie her shoes with one hand. She described her cooking. After she puts something in a pan, the pan moves all over the top of the stove in response to her movements with her good hand and her inability to stabilize the pan with her dysfunctional hand.
Then she told me about her child who has learn by imitating her. She noticed that her child learned to tie her shoes with one hand. Then she noticed that her daughter cooked on the stove with one hand just as her mother. She noticed that her daughter was cooking by using one hand even though the pan slid all over the surface of the stove.
Then she concluded that her daughter was learning to use only one hand in coping with activities in her life. After this realization, she told her daughter that she had two good hands and needed to use both of them. Then she explained that she had only used one hand, because of her injury.
It was very apparent that her daughter had learned to imitate her behavior without any awareness of why she was doing so.
This brought to my mind, what occurred in my life when I began driving. Proudly, I was sitting behind the wheel on my first attempt at driving. I began driving. I was turning the steering wheel right and left as I had seen my father do. I was just making the movements for no reason at all. Probably out of disbelief and fear for his life, he asked me what I was doing. I explained to him that I was driving like I had seen him drive. Then he informed me that I needed to only make adjustments by turning the steering wheel corresponding to the road and driving conditions.
I had learned to imitate my father's driving, but had no idea why he made the movements and adjustments that he did.
It is important to remember that children imitate adults and their parents. They will blindly imitate behavior with no understanding of why they are doing what they are doing. As parents, we need to talk and explain to children why we are doing what we do. This information will help children have a good understanding of what they are imitating by observing us.
Remember, Children Will Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!
Dr. Hal
Life and Mental Fitness Coach