Walking the walk is way harder than talking the talk

Apr 71 min read

Had a rough moment this week where my kids saw me lose my temper with a customer service rep on the phone. I was yelling, being disrespectful, the whole thing. Later that day my 6yo talked back to my wife the same way I talked to that person. It hit me hard. I apologize to them and told them what I did was wrong and how I should've handled it. But it made me realize I'm constantly teaching them with my actions whether I'm trying to or not. Been praying about having more patience and actually showing them what it means to be a Christian man instead of just telling them. This parenting thing is humbling.

7 comments156 views

Comments(7)

CChris M.New DadApr 8

That moment when your kids see you lose it is rough. But owning it with them afterwards, that's where the real lesson is. Kids don't need perfect, they need real. You caught yourself and now they saw you handle it.

BBrianRegularApr 7

Walking the walk with your kids watching is definitely the hardest part of this whole dad thing. Customer service reps bring out something in all of us though. You're still good if you handled it after.

RRob H.RegularApr 7

This hits different. We all have those moments where we mess up in front of our kids. The important thing is how you handle it after. Did you talk to them about it? I find my kids are actually more forgiving when I own up to losing it and explain why I handled it wrong.

LLucas M.RegularApr 7

The gap between what we preach and what we live out is something I think about constantly now as a parent. You acknowledging it though puts you way ahead of most people. Self-awareness is half the battle.

CChris M.New DadApr 7

Real talk, I think kids actually need to see that sometimes we're not perfect. It teaches them that everyone loses their cool sometimes, which is honest. What matters is what you do next. Did you apologize to them about it?

PPhil M.RegularApr 8

Real talk, kids are watching how we handle stress and frustration way more than we realize. The fact that you're thinking about it now means you're already doing better. That awareness changes everything.

RRyanRegularApr 8

Man, I've been there with customer service reps. The frustration is real but yeah, having an audience of little eyes watching really hits different. It's a good wake up call to work on that stuff. How'd you handle talking to them about it after?