We all have episodes from our past that we may not be proud of. Many are the exact behaviors we tell our kids not to do. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t have sex, don’t pierce, don’t get a tattoo.
Luckily for us parents, MySpace, YouTube, and digital cameras weren’t around when we young, so maybe there is no publicly available evidence. But, we still need to decide what, when, and how much to tell our kids about our checkered past.
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I think it’s important for them to know. Hypocracy is a credibility killer.
I’m actually proud of my past (most of it). I’ve never smoked a cigarette (or pot or done any drugs)–never wanted to. I’ll be proud to tell them that, and when it comes to stuff on which I’ve made mistakes (like drinking too much at college parties and almost getting sick), hopefully they can learn from them if I’m honest!