Are You a Good Role Model for Your Child?

Whether we like it or not, our children see our behaviour and often start to imitate us. Do you want them to imitate you? Do you think you are a good role model for them in all areas? I really feel that instilling good behaviour and habits in your children needs to begin with you - you need to model the behaviour you want in them and then they will follow through.

Being a Good Role Model in the Way You Treat Your Wife or Husband

The first area where you may need to be a good role model (provided you are not a single parent) is in the way you treat your wife, husband or partner. Your children will see the way you react to them, the way you love and respect them and through this they will learn to love and respect you and others.

What Do You Eat (and Drink)?

Diet (and healthy habits) is another area where you need to be a good role model for your child. If you want them to eat fruit and vegetables but you are constantly snacking on chocolates and crisps they will feel the hypocrisy and instead of doing what you say they will do what you do. Practice healthy eating and moderate drinking yourself so that you can instil these values into your children.

Family Values

Do you value honesty, trust and openness? Do you practice these? Or do you lie to your children and to other adults? If you want your children to be open and honest with you then you need to teach them these family values through practicing them yourself. If a child knows that you are dishonest then they are not going to listen when you tell them not to be - so be a good role model in this area too.

Raising children, and being a good role model for them, is an awesome responsibility. Whatever you want to model in your child, needs to begin in you first. Take an honest look at yourself and see whether there are things that you are expecting of your child that you are not expecting of yourself and then work to correct these. You will be amazed at the difference it makes in your life and in your child's life.