Children have great memories about what we say we will, and won’t, do. To us, they’re just words, “We’ll get ice cream after school on Friday.” But when Friday rolls around, we either forget our promise or don’t feel like following through. When we don’t keep our promises to our children, we do more than let them down for that moment.
1. We teach them not to trust us. If your child can’t trust you in the little promises, how will they trust you in the big ones?
2. We disappoint them. No child’s life is disappointment-free, but we can minimize some disappointments by keeping our word.
3. We make them feel unimportant. Your child will notice if you keep your word to others, but not to them. If your friends, TV watching, and hobbies contribute to your not keeping your promises to your children, it’s time for a promise-adjustment.
4. We make them disrespect us. Mothers who don’t keep their word will lose their children’s respect. Integrity is a key ingredient of respect. If you are not true to your word, you are not showing integrity. Eventually, that will lead to your children losing respect for you.
When you keep your promises to your children, you are saying, You are very important to me.
Don’t lie like a Cheap NAAFI Watch and make promises you can’t keep.
