There were a lot of jokes flying around when this story surfaced in mid-December about a 4-year-old boy who broke into his neighbor's house and got drunk while wearing a dress. He decided to do something to get arrested so that he could visit his dad in jail for Christmas. The boy's parents are going through a divorce.

It's sad that seeing his dad in jail was the Christmas present the boy wanted. But even more disturbing was that the child wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps -- literally -- by breaking the law and getting arrested. It's a lesson for all of us parents, especially as a new year begins.

What kind of footsteps are we leaving for our kids to follow? What lessons are they learning from us without us being aware of it? 

As we make our New Year's resolutions, we usually focus on whatever bad habits we have, like eating too much or smoking. This year, we should also focus on those habits that we might be passing along to our kids, maybe without even realizing it.

-- Sherry Robinson