If you want well-behaved kids, model the behavior you expect. If you don't want your child to lie, don't lie. If you want your child to be kind to others, be kind. If you want your child to be helpful, give them things to help you with at a very young age and continue to expect help with things as they grow-up. Model reading and doing homework. Children usually want to do what their parents do and copy the behavior. If you lose your temper when you don't get your way, expect that behavior in your child.
When my children got into the middle grades, if I asked them to do something and it did not happen, they could expect the same behavior from me. They may want dinner or their clothes laundered, or ride at certain time, but if I had to wait for a request, so did they. Problems rarely occurred. We usually had a very peaceful household.
Mary
