7 Bad Habits Of Parents That Affect Their Children

As parents, we may often feel that we know what is best for our children and do not pay much attention to how the kids feel when they look at us behaving in a certain way or following certain habits.

It is a fact that parents are the very first and the most important role models to their children, as kids usually tend to learn most habits by watching their parents, during the initial stages of their growth.

One of the founding-father's of psychological theories on social learning has brought out a theory called the imitation theory, in which he says that children learn most of their social skills by imitating their parents.

So, it is very essential for the parents to be good role models to their children, in order to help them grow up to be model citizens.

Many a times, as parents, we tend to get caught up with life and forget to take all the necessary steps to be better role models to our children.

We follow certain practices and habits that may affect our children negatively, when they watch us indulge in those habits.

So, here is a list of habits that you can avoid, in order to keep your children from being affected negatively.

1. Self-Criticism

Many a times, we tend to criticise ourselves regarding our looks, careers, etc. This habit leads to your child developing unrealistic standards of beauty and success, which may later on cause physiological issues like depression and eating disorders in them.

2. Over Use Of Gadgets

Most modern parents indulge in texting, e-mailing, talking on the phone for long hours, etc, in front of their children. Kids will look at their parents doing that and they too will want to own cell phones and tablets right from a young age, which may affect their studies.

3. Setting Gender Roles

Some parents impose stereotyped gender roles on their kids. For example, girls should not involve themselves in sports, boys should not show emotions, etc. This habit can hamper their social lives extremely, especially in this progressive era.

4. Drinking And Smoking

Indulging in vices, such as excessive drinking and smoking, in front of your children may make them feel that it is alright to develop such habits. They may start drinking and smoking from a very young age, leading to health complications later on.

5. Being Over-competitive

Comparing your kid's achievement with that of other kids, insulting them about their school grades in front of their friends, thinking that it might encourage them to do better the next time can often be a blow to the child's self-esteem and it may affect his/her psychology 

6. Constant Arguing

If you are getting into constant arguments and fights with your family members, when your kid is around, your child may try to imitate that behaviour with his/her friends, making him/her more prone to an aggressive behaviour, right from an early age.

7. Physical Abuse

Hitting your kids even for a small mistake and "punishing" them often by psychically abusing them can have serious repercussions and may either make them extremely rebellious or very weak emotionally.