I can understand a mother’s spiritual state by looking at the children (Saint Paisios the Athonite)

It was my mother who taught me to say the Jesus Prayer. When we were children and had done some mischief, and my mother was about to get angry with us, I remember her saying, “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” When she put the bread in the oven, she would say, “In the name of Christ and Panaghia.” And whenever she was kneading or cooking, again, she constantly said the Jesus Prayer. In this manner, she herself was blessed, as were the bread and the food she was preparing, and so were those who partook of it later… The mother’s devotion has great significance. If the mother has humility and fear of God, then family life is smooth. I know young mothers whose faces shine, even though they have no one to help them. I can understand a mother’s spiritual state by looking at the children.
Saint Paisios the Athonite, Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 4