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Monkey See Monkey Do: Modeling the Habits We Want to See
September 03, 2025
Our children are natural imitators, which means the habits we model as parents matter most. Here we share our family's journey of shifting from screen time to a 'Read, Write, Build' culture and how our commitment to creating alongside our kids transformed our home life and relationships.
We’ve all seen it: for better or for worse, our children are master imitators. It’s one of the main reasons we chose to homeschool—to curate the influences our kids are exposed to and steer them away from habits we'd rather they not pick up. But what happens when the habits they’re picking up are our own? What if they see Mom and Dad glued to their phones, endlessly watching TV or getting into a tense argument over a phone call? It quickly became clear that we had to get serious about our own behaviors. If we want our kids to live a certain way, we have to model it first, because more often than not, they’re just going to copy us.
In the baby and toddler years, it was easy to fall into the habit of streaming shows or FaceTiming friends while the kids were occupied. But as they’ve gotten older, we realized we needed to be more intentional with our own time. Once we developed the Read Write Build mentality, we had a way to guide our kids toward productive free time. The real shift, however, happened when we, as parents, committed to intentionally reading, writing and building alongside them each day. That’s when we witnessed our entire family dynamic transform.
Suddenly nights and weekends were spent enjoying more read alouds as a family, writing stories together (or apart), creating projects on Scratch, tackling advanced Lego sets as a team, building a birdhouse for the backyard and more. It has been so enriching and fulfilling to learn and create with them. The best part? They now automatically choose to read, write and build in their free time, without any prompting from us. Apparently, a culture of Reading, Writing and Building is contagious.
Are you ready to build a new culture in your home? What are you excited to Read, Write and Build together with your family?
In the baby and toddler years, it was easy to fall into the habit of streaming shows or FaceTiming friends while the kids were occupied. But as they’ve gotten older, we realized we needed to be more intentional with our own time. Once we developed the Read Write Build mentality, we had a way to guide our kids toward productive free time. The real shift, however, happened when we, as parents, committed to intentionally reading, writing and building alongside them each day. That’s when we witnessed our entire family dynamic transform.
Suddenly nights and weekends were spent enjoying more read alouds as a family, writing stories together (or apart), creating projects on Scratch, tackling advanced Lego sets as a team, building a birdhouse for the backyard and more. It has been so enriching and fulfilling to learn and create with them. The best part? They now automatically choose to read, write and build in their free time, without any prompting from us. Apparently, a culture of Reading, Writing and Building is contagious.
Are you ready to build a new culture in your home? What are you excited to Read, Write and Build together with your family?