The only parenting advice I find useful: You can't teach your kids anything. You just have to embody the things you want them to learn. Make a list of the traits and values you want your kids to have. Then make sure you're living by them every single day. That's really it.

Sep 17, 2026 · 8:30 PM UTC

143
757
6,605
209,436
Sort replies: Relevant Recent Liked
Replying to @SahilBloom
I've never once told my sons to do pushups. They've seen me doing pushups since they were 1. Daddy, can we do pushups too!!! Please!!!!
1
21
1,453
Replying to @SahilBloom
Such a good advice. The hardest part of parenting isn’t raising good kids. It’s becoming the adult you want them to copy. In my case… Two little humans.Four little eyes. Always watching.😀
1
13
956
Replying to @SahilBloom
The older my son gets the more I believe this to be true.
2
11
2,388
Replying to @SahilBloom
Not a parent, but this makes me think so many things in life are like sleeping, in that you can’t choose to do them, you can only create the conditions for them to be possible. (h/t @jonnym1ller) behzod.com/blog/is-x-like-sl…

Is X like Sleeping? — Behzod

A few lines about Jonny Miller's reflection on sleep and Jerry Colonna's famous question.

behzod.com
1
5
381
Replying to @SahilBloom
"Kids learn when they're ready to learn, not when you're ready to teach."
1
4
225
Replying to @SahilBloom
Man that’s exactly right They won’t listen to what you say but they’ll sure do what they see you do
3
327
Replying to @SahilBloom
Kids copy the day they actually watch, not the lecture.
2
474
Replying to @SahilBloom
“You can’t teach your kids anything. Only modeling works.” sounds great in theory but fails so often in reality. Modeling is powerful and under appreciated by most parents. But in no universe is it true or beneficial to believe that “you can’t teach your kids anything.”
2
281
Replying to @SahilBloom
100% this, more gets caught than taught
1
308
Replying to @SahilBloom @david__booth
We’ve replaced the word “teach <kids to…>” with “model” instead to remind ourselves
156
Replying to @SahilBloom
This is the one. Kids notice what we do way before they listen to what we say 😅
29
Replying to @SahilBloom
four kids deep and i can confirm: they learn nothing from what you say and everything from what you do
1
3
56
1,463
Replying to @SahilBloom
That’s the harder road but it’s really the only thing that works. They imitate more than they listen.
1
1
15
1,365
Replying to @SahilBloom
The Stoic Cult
@the_stoic_cult
Jun 26
A man's character is his only true possession; reputation is merely its shadow.
1
4
2,938
Replying to @SahilBloom
Your kids will resist a lot of what you tell them, but they will pick up very easily whatever you show them.
2
8
439
Replying to @SahilBloom
Good advice. When parenting mine, I always believed, “More is caught than taught.”
1
5
763
Replying to @SahilBloom
I think the deeper lesson is that kids are watching your defaults, not your speeches. If you want them to be disciplined, curious, kind, or resilient, they need to see what that actually looks like when life gets frustrating. You don’t have to be perfect—you have to be consistent enough that your values are visible in how you live.
2
5
168
Replying to @SahilBloom
This applies to everything. Not just parenting. If you want a better world, be the example. If you want better AI, be better first. Kids, adults, machines. They all learn from what they see, not what they're told.
2
396
Replying to @SahilBloom
Father of 5 boys and I’ve discovered the die is cast earlier than you might imagine and your influence albeit significant isn’t as forceful as I’d believed. Examples, focusing on things and acts that you deem important, building them habits they can see value in, these things matter. Forcing doesn’t work effectively per se, and they are responsible for themselves and actions way earlier than I ever realized.
6
496
Replying to @SahilBloom
I’d add one thing...they’re also watching what you do after you get it wrong. A good apology may teach them as much as getting it right.
1
4
103
Replying to @SahilBloom
Yes and no… Your words still carry a lot of weight, especially the ones you keep repeating around them. When my now 5yo said “I can never do this”, I ‘d say “you just can’t do it YET because you haven’t practiced enough”. Now he tries everything and says it to his 3yo brother.
1
4
556
Replying to @SahilBloom
And you have to develop these traits before they come or at least before they develop the ability to learn from their environment.
1
4
433
Replying to @SahilBloom
It works in reverse too. Picture the person you want to become, then start making the small decisions that version of you would make today. Do it long enough and youre not pretending anymore. The behavior becomes evidence. The evidence becomes identity.
2
188
Replying to @SahilBloom
Yup the worst thing to hear from your kids: “But I saw you did that the other day” Like how do you even navigate it. The only choice is just improving yourself to the point where you can’t be criticized for it.
2
344
Replying to @SahilBloom
Recipe for being a person of good character. Be the person you want your children to emulate (because they will)
2
278
Replying to @SahilBloom
There are three ways by which you can teach others Instruction-most used-least effective Setting examples- least used- highly impactful Children learn more by observing. You just do what you want to teach. Influence-your presence says it all. We have seen some whose presence electrify everyone.
2
533
Replying to @SahilBloom
You're the most influential role model for them, most parents overlook that
1
82
Replying to @SahilBloom
The test is whether you still live the list when you’re tired and they are watching. They study how you handle a bad day more carefully than anything you write down.
1
45
Replying to @SahilBloom
Experimenting this exact thing thses days at my home..very challenging but very impactful process of teaching children
1
315
Replying to @SahilBloom
A good way I think about it: model life to them. You want them to read? Read next to them. With them. To them.
1
1
231
Replying to @SahilBloom
Kids never listen to lectures, they just study behavior on repeat. If you want calm problem solvers, you have to stay regulated under stress. Modeling the standard daily is 10 times harder than lecturing, but it is the only thing that sticks.
315
Replying to @SahilBloom
This is the whole thing, honestly. Kids don't absorb what you say, they absorb what you do when you think no one's watching. This hit hard because my toddler recently repeated back a tone I use when I'm stressed. Nothing teaches self-awareness faster.
46
Replying to @SahilBloom
Traits aren't taught, they're accumulated. Curiosity is just someone who's tried a lot of things. Courage is someone who's been uncomfortable before. Kids learn those by watching you go collect them.
56
Replying to @SahilBloom
Probably applies to leadership too. You can tell people to take ownership 100 times, but if they see you jumping in and fixing everything yourself, that's what they'll learn.
219
Replying to @SahilBloom
Non verbal is much more effective in influencing than verbal. Let them experience what desirable and undesirable actions looks and feels like and they are more likely to follow suit.
188
Replying to @SahilBloom
I’d go a step further: you can’t even pick and choose what they see. They collect too much data for a curated "list" to work. If you're performing, they’ll notice. You're better off just striving to be the most authentic, best version of yourself so at least you're consistent.
1
80
Load more