The influence of positive role models for children can help parents and encourage children to make good decisions. Making good decisions at a young age can also promote good behavior in adolescence and adulthood.
“No printed word, no spoken plea can teach young minds what they should be. Not all the books on all the shelves, but what the teachers themselves are.” –Rudyard Kipling
Young children’s best role models are often their parents. Realizing this can be daunting at first for parents as they struggle to live up to those expectations. Shaping children’s behavior can be as simple as setting a positive example. Parents can set a good example for their children by telling the truth, being fair to their children and their peers, loving unconditionally and working hard, setting limits and disciplining with kindness and love.
Showing children good examples can do more to curb their negative behavior than telling them what to do or even yelling at or disciplining them. Children look to their parents to teach them not only with their words but also with their actions.
Children will naturally gravitate towards role models who are kind and do good. For example, a little girl may notice a Disney princess. Many young girls love Cinderella and want to be like her. They will dress up in a Cinderella costume all day instead of her clothes. They will want to watch Cinderella movies, sleep with princess dolls, dress her dolls to look like her, etc. As long as a role model does not display violence and negative behavior, she fosters her imagination with these positive influences.
Parents need to make sure that positive role models are available for their children. She can be a princess, but even better a real human being like a grandpa, uncle, sister, cousin, friend or parent. Remember that parents are the biggest influence on their own children. Make sure it’s positive!
