An excerpt from Parenting with an Attitude....21 Questions Successful Parents Ask Themselves

What do my kids hear me say about them?
"It is inevitable that the expectations we have for our kids will be their first and most significant road map for developing a sense of who they are and what they have to offer the world. Having absorbed what they have observed, heard and concluded about what we expect them to be, they then set out in life to perpetuate what they heard about themselves as kids. This in large part, is how personality develops.

Since childhood patterns-both healthy and unhealthy-tend
to continue throughout their lives, giving our kids positive and
healthy expectations to live up to is essential. Our words, messages,
and attitudes—as well as our physical expressions—will either
convey messages and expectations that will shape, mold and
encourage them to think well of themselves, or contribute to their
becoming self-doubting adults who are less prepared to deal with
life and the struggles that will come their way from time to time."

Ed Wimberly, author of Parenting with an Attitude....21 Questions Successful Parents Ask Themselves

Discussion Questions:
1. What is one message you consistently heard as a child that you
are either living up to, or down to?
2. In what way does that early childhood message you heard affect
you today?
3. What are some of the messages you are sending your kids
that are shaping and influencing their conclusions regarding
themselves?
4. What is the most common message your kids hear from you
regarding them?
5. What affect does that message currently seem to be having on
them?
6. How is that consistent message from you likely shaping how
they will be as adults?