Everything you do will be picked up by a Little. One of my favorite sayings is "What should not be heard by Little ears, should not be said by Big mouths." It is so true. Not that I am the best at following it, but its great nonetheless.

 Everything you say will be heard by the Littles. They will pick it up like a magnet. It will stick with them too. We have to make sure what we say is the right thing. The nice thing. The Godly thing. If you don't, then the things you are saying will be repeated by the Littles.

 Bad habits get picked up ALOT easier than good ones. So we need to make sure we have the good ones down pat.

 You have to rid yourself of the bad habits you have, because if you don't, then the children will pick them up and they will have to learn to break them.

 It makes more sense to only have one child have to break a bad habit than 5 or 6 other children.

 Being the oldest child is a hard job. Yeah, it has its perks, but I think that we have one of the hardest jobs in a family. You pretty much set the tones of all the younger children. If you don't set the right tone, then there will be chaos in your family, because everyone will have bad attitudes and habits.

 It is horrible to have to see or hear something you did or say that wasn't right, said or acted by a younger sibling. It is scary because your sin that you committed is being committed by someone you are suppose to be helping learn to be a Godly person.

 And, you may say or do it only once, but whoever the Little is that picks it up will do it over and over.

 I think that if you have said or done something that a Little has picked up, then it is your responsibility to help that Little correct his sin.

 I absolutely *hate* it when I say something or do something that was wrong(yes, I do and say things that are wrong), and one of our Littles picks it up and keeps repeating it over and over. My sin has caused them to sin and therefore creates havoc in our lives.

 Some things that I have found that I can help the Littles here with are:

Not talking back to Mom. (Yes, I do that.)

Not shaking my head. (and this...)

Not rolling my eyes. (and this too)

Talking nice to them. (I don't do that all the time)

Doing things when I am told... the first time. (Ugh this is a hard one, but I am working hard to correct it.)

Not arguing. (This is a big problem with me. I argue all the time with everyone. UGH!!)

 I am sure there are many more, but that is all I can think of. These are things I need to work on. If I try to change these things, then things will be better for me and the Littles.

 We have to be *VERY* careful to make sure we set a great example for the Littles.

 "Children are like sponges and we are like water. Make sure you are clean water for them to soak up."

As Always,

          

Thanks for stopping by "Daily" at the "Planet"!!   
©AmandaDixon2007

Commented by baruch117

Same here, except I have a younger brother and an older sister. Hope things are going smoothly. I will probably partake in the "state assignment" that Jocelyn posted on her blog. How are you doing? God bless.

Matt/Eragon

Have a wonderful and blessed school year.

Edited by baruch117 on August 30, 2007 at 9:07 PM

Commented by Ebell1993

Amanda, that is so true! I really know that happens a lot in our family and also being th oldest I have to set good examples for my sisters. I pray each day that I may be a wonderful example to my siblings!

I love the idea of your sister doing the e-book! Are you entering a essay in it? I sent my essay on my hope chest to Miss Jocelyn today. I had so much fun writing it!!!

We start school this Labor Day which means the same time as you:) I hope you have a wonderful school year!

Love, Elizabeth

Commented by JoeM

I totally agree with you here. I absolutely know how hard it is. It's easier when the parents teach you when your younger and be diligent when you become older. There's been some slack in these later years of our family. I remember when I was really young the line was black and white and now they are graying a little...

RYC, yeah, I think anyone who hangs around Paulie is kind of on the weird side. They'd HAVE to be weird! I mean, especially if he likes sweet cream cheese! I just had a bagel and cream cheese and it was not sweet at all! When he comes over I'll show him it's not sweet. That's partially why I bought the bagels (and the other reason was because I had a hankering for them).

Thanks! I like my new design too but probably only for a few months. Then I'll redesign it. That's the problem with being a web designer. =|

Commented by BreezyTulip

Hey, good post!

I am only just understanding how important it is to watch what I am doing, not only around the "Littles", but a whole world as well. My one younger sister and I are so close in age we mirror each other all the time, and its hard to tell were the attitudes are coming from. (And the closer I look I realize its me!)

We are also getting to know more homeschoolers around our county, sending out an e-newsletter, helping them all connect, etc. While I haven't grown up with many older homeschooled kids to look up to, I now realize that's what I have to become for all these new wee people I am meeting. I'd better start keeping a better eye on the example I'm setting.

Thanks for that encouraging word! God bless!

-BreezyTulip

Commented by sharla88

ahhhh to to true I was thinking about doing a post on a little girl that i had a rather odd transaction with so well see how well it goes! ;)
I cant wait to see you tooooooo!!!! AHHHH cnat belive we are!!! you all should be scared!!! LOL
GB~
sharla~

Commented by melarooski

...so very true. Thank you for this very encouraging article. The things you mentioned that need fixing in your life are also some of the many things that need fixing in mine.

Keep up the good writing!

-Melanie

Commented by SuperAngel

It's a good thing there are more than plenty of preservatives in those bagels, so you can freeze them and give one to Paulie if he comes up. Good thing they will last a long time, seeing how it will be a long time til he comes up there. lol!!
Crack me up!! I love bagels, especially raisin cinnamon, but I have given up bagels for now, cause they last too long and that means there are too many nasty things in them. Yuck!!
lol!! Anyway, enjoy your bagels, cause if you don't they will prolly go bad before Paulie gets up.
lol!!
Amanda

Commented by pianolove

Yes, I know what you mean.

My younger sibs think I have the world or something.

They have no idea what it's really like.

Heather

Commented by BlogBoy

Good point, kids are like sponges. I think that teens are still very impressionable also, as I said before in What is Holding Us Back.

I do have some work to do, since I am the oldest at home. I need to work on your list also :(

RYC: Same here, sometimes my posts don't get done for a few weeks!

Eric

Commented by cherryblossom

Wow,thats a good post. I know a little seven year old girl who hangs around me all the time. Not my sister,just a friend. But when she talks now she says stuff like 'yeah well ya know. like. whatever" which are all things I say! It's not bad that she is saying those just I have to watch my mouth and attitude around her cause she will copy it :) She also talks about guys being cute when we are walking through the store,which I laugh because she sounds just like me. :P Not something to be proud of,ne? But funny hearing it from a seven year old.

Sigh.. I have done it. I have neglected commenting on friends blogs.. Sigh.... I've been very bad.. I can't wait to get home to set up the RSS thing so I can keep up and remember to comment on your blog and others more often. I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!! :(

Love
Julia

Commented by nancysnook

Hello~

I'm awarding you the Nice Matters Award! Come to my blog to pick up the code.

Nancy

Commented by dixiefiddler

No, I don't mind. Thank you. :-D
I have that same problem. I'm glad it's not just me. I'm the youngest child in the family but I have nieces and nephews that are just a few years younger than me. So I really have to watch myself.
Do you do tags?
Have a blessed day,
Sarah

Commented by giftedgirl

Hey!

Very nice post! I completely agree. Being the oldest certainly has it's perks...... but sometimes wish I had an older sibling. Mary, Natalie, and Thomas all got a 'head start' with so many things because I was already there, and already knew how to do things. I didn't really have that. At the same time, I got undivided attention for the first 2 years of my life, and as much attention as they all got, it wasn't undivided. So, like you said, being the oldest has it's pros and cons. :-)

And yes, they do soak things up like sponges!! I do to an extent as well, but I don't have an older sibling to be my influence. Instead, I have my parents and friends. :-)

Blessings,
Becca

Commented by Eyebright

I absolutely love this post. Everything you said is so incredibly true! Everything that you said that you do, I do as well. Each and every one, so this post was very relevant to my own life. I really appriciate your posting it.

Thanks

Commented by TrickyNikki

Your post is so true. I know, I have little brothers that pick up ALL the bad stuff my older brother and I do. Arg! I don't like it when I see what I've done wrong by seeing them do it, too! I need to work on it. Thanks for that post, it made me think.

I've missed not being able to read your posts. Our computer was down. But it's working now. WOOHOO!!! So I should be able to get on again now. YAY!

Oh, and thank you for the comments. :-)

Love,
~Nikki

Commented by LizBeth

That is so true Amanda! I think I'm going to have to work on a few things!
Sorry it's been so long since I last commented. Been kinda a busy lately! I'm sure you know the feeling.

LOVE Lucy's blog! Although she should update (or has she and I just missed it?) with a mother and several siblings who blog it's not like she doesn't have enough people to dictate her posts to until she learns to type! LOL!

Hope things are going well for you guys!!!!

Blessings,
Liz

Commented by totustuus

That is a GREAT post, Amanda...I have nothing to add, because I think you said it all really well. :-)

Commented by pianolove

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE! Just before I read your comment I was thinking I should post again!

I talked to my mom. She says it's O.K. to e-mail me about a suit. You might want to wait until spring, but on the other hand, the fabric will be going on sale soon. You would be picking that out. Please don't feel like I'm pressuring you to get one, I just want to let you know.
lovelylivingbooks@yahoo.com

That post is so good I want to comment again.
One of the biggest problems I have is self-rightousness. Instead of noticing my mistakes I tend to dwell on the "Little's" mistakes. Not Good.

Heather

Commented by Earthling

I'm guilty of all those things too. (yes, it's hard to believe I'm not perfect! JK!)
It's hard sometimes, though with things that aren't really wrong to say or do, but you have to be careful because you don't want them repeated by a seven year old! That's where I have a lot of problems--I say something that is fine for me to say to Mom or my older sister, and I forget little ears are in the room!