Parents behave!

We may not be aware of it but what we do, be it trivial or significant, has an influence on people around us. Isn’t it that we sometimes unknowingly influence our friends, or people close to us, with our preferences in music, food, and fashion among other things? It also happens within the family. A parent’s principles, habits and lifestyle are the best ways that can influence the children. What they do and say leave an imprint on their children’s minds as they’re growing up. Parenthood is a big responsibility and it isn’t easy being a parent when your kids whine for things you know they don’t need, when they become bratty just to get attention or start some petty quarrels.

I remember when my Mom used to discipline me and my siblings before, how it took her so much time and effort to explain things to us, and teach us life lessons after we had some fights or misunderstandings. She never stopped until everything’s resolved and we were obliged to kiss and make up. My Dad on the other hand was an example of what every father should be, working hard for his family without resorting to drinks and other vices to unwind. Whenever I learn of families with irresponsible parents, I am thankful that I grew up in an atmosphere of love and discipline.

I browsed over some stories of drug abuse and alcoholism from a drug rehab mobile weblog. It’s a collection of personal experiences and memories shared — being addicted and getting treated — on different types of drugs being abused, as well as alcoholism. I was interested on this particular entry about a son who claims to ‘inherit’ his alcoholism from his father. When he was still a kid, he would always see his dad with a drink or more after coming home from work, or after mowing the loan, or waking up in the morning. In this way, his dad influenced him to drink. He was just thankful he got into an alcoholism treatment program where he finally learned the important lesson of taking responsibility for his alcoholism even if his dad passed on this ‘inheritance’ to him. It’s true, he is responsible for it, though it is likely to happen when he was exposed to an atmosphere of alcohol abuse like that while still young and innocent. His dad just didn’t realize how his lifestyle influenced his son in a negative way.