Right from when they are born, babies begin to observe the expressions and behaviors around them and start to match their neural maps to these observations. As early childhood educators have consistently maintained, much of what young children learn in school or at home is from watching the adults in their lives. So we need to constantly ask ourselves this question - are we modeling for our children the behaviors we do want them to practice? Are we their "social compass"?
Read the following article by Susan Pinker for more on this: