It is constantly reiterated that education begins in the home, but what is often forgotten is that morality begins in the home also.
—Louis L’amour
You tell them to be good. To be honest. To follow the law. To care about other people. That safety comes first.
You say these things, but what do you do? You can’t say that you care about other people and then speed through stop signs because you’re late. You can’t tell your kids that honesty is important and then lie to get out of the ticket. What’s worth more to you, avoiding a fine or living your values? That’s what you have to ask yourself in every situation, particularly the ones where your kids are watching. Is getting what you want worth teaching the wrong lesson and undermining the values you are trying to instill? Those kids buckled in behind you—they are absorbing your example and assimilating the lessons that will shape them in the smallest and biggest of ways. From the kind of driver they are going to be to the kind of person they are going to be. They are watching you as you go through the world. Right now. They’re watching you break traffic laws, break promises. They hear you when you lie. They feel it when your actions don’t match your words.
Kids learn from home. They learn in the car. They learn from Mom and Dad. You set the standard, so be the standard.