Sometimes parents don’t realize just how much their children pay attention until it comes back to bite them in the butt.
Kids recognize everything their parents say and do. If you don’t think you have a potty mouth, wait until your kids start saying “Oh f—” when they drop their toys. If you don’t think your kids notice what you do, hand them a makeup brush and figure out if they know how to use it correctly.
In fact, there was even a trend online where moms would hand their toddlers everything from mascara to tampons to see how much they were paying attention when their parents used them.
Children are taking in everything and learning from your every move, whether you want them to or not.
That’s what one dad on TikTok learned when his daughter asked him what it takes to be a man. He told his daughter that a man looks after the kids, doing chores around the house, mowing the lawn, and taking kids to school.
To that she responded that she is going to become a man when she grows up. Just like her mommy.
Her mother, overhearing this, started cracking up. His father didn’t get it at first, telling his wife that it wasn’t funny. But the mom knew exactly what this meant. Her daughter was paying attention. And she wants to be just like her mommy when she grows up.
Commenters were very quick to make it abundantly clear that they were NOT on the dad’s side. They shamed him for trying to scold his wife for laughing, and rolled their eyes at the fact that he didn’t think his daughter would know who exactly was the real “man” of the family.
There’s not an ounce of remorse in the daughter’s voice, nor is there in the comment section. Viewers are obsessed with just how much the daughter humbled her dad with one question.
Several people are even praising the little girl’s wit and attention to detail. One person even noted that this is an excellent lesson that kids are always paying attention to. Always.
According to APA Divisions, parents truly are the models for their children’s behavior. From a very young age, they want to be just like their parents. This means that kids are watching constantly, learning both good and bad behaviors. If as a parent you notice your child picking up some negative traits that you don’t want to pass on, it’s important to be intentional about what behaviors you exhibit around your children.
Having a child causes you to reflect on yourself and your behaviors and alter how you treat yourself and others in hopes that your kid will echo positive behaviors instead of negative ones.
That also means that you can’t just tell them the kind of man you are. Because they’ll see if that’s true or not. But chances are if you’re not the true man of the family, your kids will point out exactly who it is.
And they won’t be afraid to let you know.