The bird does does not crow, until it hears the old one.
Parents have a very important role to play in their children's upbringing. My people say that when the mother goat chews cud, her kids watch her and learn.
Children's brains are like a tabular rasa( an empty slate). Hence, it is what the children hear and see that they assimilate and practice. A child, who is born into a home laden with domestic violence, has the tendency to become violent, too. They watch their father beat their mother, and, though they don't like the fact that their mothers are passing through this in the hands of their fathers, they grow up to beat their wives, too. For the female children, when they see their mothers insult their fathers, they, too, grow up and begin to insult their husbands, too. They feel it's normal for wives to insult their husbands. They think it's assertion of women's rights. They say they're feminists, but they don't know the meaning of feminism.
A true feminist is like the Amazons- they only fight for equality between men and women and the end to female subjugation. Yes, this is right. Feminism does not tell you to insult your husband. There are other polite ways to settle the issue between you and your husband. So, the girl child and the boy child grow up to become violent people, barbarians. They become thorns not only in the flesh of their families, but also in the flesh of their communities.
However, children who grow up in peaceful homes have this 'trait' to make peaceful homes, too. They don't fight. They don't use Rambo-style approach to settle issues. They are disciplined and wise like their parents. A popular didactic adage says, "Teach a child the way he should go, and when he grows, he will never depart from it." So true, a saying!
The proverb is also saying that until the parents say what is right and what is wrong, their children will keep on making mistakes. Hence, the tone of the proverb is cautionary and reprimanding. Don't ever spare the rod, for that will spoil the child. Be assertive!
The bird does does not crow, until it hears the old one.The child does not speak, until it hears the adults speaking.A learner does not work out an exercise, until he/she obeserves the teacher.We can learn a bunch of things by obverving others, especially braining folks.