I (Todd) have fed 11 babies now in my career as a dad. It is always fun to see their reactions to new tastes and textures. Overtime I have learned that the temperature of the food and thickness s are also important factors in a baby’s response to food. One funny (and kind of embarrassing) thing about my approach baby feeding is the fact that I always open my mouth when I offer a spoonful of food to a baby. I can’t help it! It’s crazy but I can hardly keep my mouth shut even when I’m trying to be conscious of it. Of course, I wasn’t always aware of this “mouth modeling” habit.
I became aware of my mouth modeling at a Wednesday evening dinner fellowship event at the church we served in Michigan. I was feeding my 6 month old son when a group of teenagers at the table next to me begin cracking up at their table about every 30 seconds or so. I finally paused from feeding my baby boy to ask them, “What’s so funny?’ In their want for more humor and entertainment the leader of the pack replied, “Oh, nothing.” I shook my head and return to feeding the baby, only to hear them laughing all the more. Embarrassed, but not knowing what for, I inquired again and the group finally had mercy on me and pointed out my hilarious mouth modeling habit. We all had a good laugh and I have been a self-conscious baby feeder ever since.
“Mouth modeling” is not just something our babies pick up from us when they are learning to eat, it is something our children learn from us when learning to speak. We are constantly “mouth modeling” when it comes to our attitudes and the words we use to reflect our thoughts, feelings, and core beliefs. Just as we teach our children to eat though modeling, by and through our mouths, we teach our children to speak, relate, and interact with the world. In other words, they pick up what we model and we would all do well to become more conscious of what we are saying and doing.
So, go ahead and get a little self-conscious about it all. Take a moment and do a mouth modeling audit. What were your attitudes, actions, and words like during breakfast this morning, over the last 24 hours, over the last week? What have you been modeling with your mouth? It’s worth thinking through because just as we put the food in the mounds of our babies, we are putting words in the mouths of our children each time we speak!
Of course, this is a positive truth as much as it is a negative one. So, be conscious of your words and speak what you want spoken. Your children are watching… And maybe a few others as well.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
~ Ephesians 4:29 ~