Ilene Bauer Poet Rhyme

What Parents Teach

What parents teach their children
Mostly isn’t what they say,
But the way they live their lives 
Those children witness every day.

If there’s kindness or there’s anger,
Lack of interest or support,
Kids learn quickly how their parents
May excel or come up short.

Offspring emulate behavior
In their folks that they admire
Or reject some ways of being
They’d be glad to see expire.

As they grow, without their knowing,
They absorb or let dissolve
Certain customs that they live with 
As their grown-up selves evolve.

And as they approach adulthood,
They might find, with some surprise,
They’ve become their parents or
The opposite, in their own eyes.

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Tom Cunningham June 6, 2026 at 8:09 AM Lead good lives and set a good example, those parents that don't are why some kids stray off the good path. Tom

Anne-Lise Andresen June 6, 2026 at 5:59 AM - You are so right, Ilene - (It's not the children, but the parents who have changed) - hugs

Andrea Dietrich June 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM Love this. Sadly, some kids have abusive parents and that cycle gets repeated because something in the child made him turn into the same monster that abused him. It's strange how other kids are able to break the cycle and others don't