Strollerstrides.com has the best t-shirt it reads "My mom is my role model", I've always thought it was adorable and reminds us all that as moms our kids watch everything we do & absorb it all- even when we think (or wish?) they aren't.
We all have our vices and 'issues' for me- it has always been sweets. I just read an article saying that liking sweets may actually be genetic (thanks, mom!) but like most things, just because we have a propensity towards something doesn't mean we have to give in to those urges. I think about that a lot- just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.. For me its the thought that "yes, I can buy a big bag of halloween candy & eat it all this week... but should I?" Becoming a mom has really brought this home for me- I realize that Lily sees and hears everything I do and is starting, already, to imitate me. Do I want a daughter that has issues with food or do I want one that can enjoy one sweet treat & not have any weird feelings about it? Do I want a daughter thats a couch potato or do I want one that gets off her butt & gets out there? Do I want a daughter that comes up with 100 excuses why she shouldn't do something instead of just getting up & working through it?
Its pretty amazing & scary the power we have over shaping our children's habits even when they are just 6 months old!
I heard the best, best, best story today at the playground after class at Ponderosa Trails- a Stroller Strides mommy told me that last night when her husband was asking about class, her daughter got up & showed her dad a whole Stroller Strides routine- squats & all! She later caught her using a long balloon as tubes and was standing on it doing bicep curls. A 2 year old is picking up that exercising can be fun- just by watching her mom in class!!! Now thats a 'roll model'.....
Hey, I had to read this twice to realize you were talking about Olivia! Thanks for sharing the story!! I love Stroller Strides!
I am constantly thinking about food. Issues with weight and food run in the family. I will tell you all the details, if you want to here them, later. But I find myself not eating things because I don't want her to eat them and she must eat everything that I do. So that is helpful for me. But on the same note. I surprise myself at how much I worry about what she is eating and don't take the time for me. Like packing healthy snacks. Silly stuff, but I do believe that eating is a habit formed long before you understand the food pyramid.