To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way

"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while." Thus spoke Josh Billings, the humorist whose wit often carried truths deeper than laughter. In these words, he touches upon the eternal bond between example and instruction. For it is not enough to tell the young how to live; one must walk the very path one prescribes. A child sees with sharper eyes than we think, and it is the life of the parent, not only their words, that becomes the true lesson.

The ancients knew this well. The Spartans did not teach courage to their sons by words alone—they trained alongside them, bled alongside them, bore the same hardships. The philosophers of Greece, like Socrates, lived what they taught; his questioning, his humility, and finally his death became the greatest lesson to his disciples. Billings, in his simple way, repeats this ancient wisdom: if you would lead a child toward goodness, let him see you walk in goodness, even if only "once in a while." For even a glimpse of true integrity teaches more than a thousand commands.

There is also humility in this saying. Billings does not demand that parents be perfect saints, for he knows that men and women falter. Instead, he asks that we remember to return, at least at times, to the road of virtue we urge upon our children. This "once in a while" is not an excuse for hypocrisy, but a reminder that example matters, even in small measures. For a single act of honesty, a single moment of courage, may burn itself into the memory of a child far more than endless lectures.

History offers us shining examples. Consider Abraham Lincoln, who, as a boy, watched his father labor honestly and his mother speak of the value of learning. These lessons were not abstract—they were lived. And Lincoln, carrying them in his heart, grew into a leader whose integrity and wisdom shaped a nation. Or recall Mahatma Gandhi, who did not simply tell his children and followers to live simply, but wore the homespun cloth, walked barefoot, and endured hunger himself. His life was his teaching, and through it, he fathered not only children, but a movement.

The opposite, too, bears warning. How many rulers have preached justice yet lived in corruption? How many parents have commanded virtue yet practiced vice? The children of such houses grow not into strength but into cynicism, for they learn that words are hollow and example is all. Billings’s saying warns against this hypocrisy, reminding us that the young will follow the path we walk, not the one we only describe.

O children of tomorrow, take this teaching to heart: do not demand of others what you are unwilling to practice yourself. If you would raise the young to truth, live truth. If you would raise them to courage, face your own fears. If you would teach them kindness, let them see you give. Do not wait until you are flawless—begin with small steps. Even "once in a while" is enough to plant seeds that may blossom in another’s life.

Therefore, let your life be your lesson. Travel often upon the road you praise, so that when the young look to you, they will not see only words, but deeds. This is the highest form of teaching, the noblest kind of parenting: to become the path you wish your children to walk. In this way, your legacy will not only be in what you told them, but in what you showed them by the way you lived.

Thus the wisdom of Josh Billings endures: that the greatest sermon is example, the greatest guide is action, and the surest way to raise children in the right path is to walk that path yourself. For in the end, the young may forget what you said, but they will never forget what you lived.