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Parents as Role Models to Children

Does this Affect their Behavior

All children have the powerful skill to observe anything and everything that happens around them. And this skill has very important implications for parents as they become the role models for their child in the initial growing up years. Most children look up to their parents and model their behavior and personality accordingly and this places a huge responsibility on each parent's shoulder. Parents as role models to children have always been overlooked and this has led to major behavioral problems in today's kids.

There are a few questions that you must ask yourself to understand if you are being a good role model for your growing up child. When your child asks you a question or makes a statement, do you respond in a positive or negative manner? Children are very good at picking up verbal cues; when they see or hear a positive response, they try to emulate it and vice versa. So it becomes important that you are always careful of how you answer back to his question or statement.

There might be times when you are discussing about a third person with your spouse or friend. When children overhear their parents gossiping about another person, they are sure to do the same thing as they think this is perfectly acceptable and normal. A positive response from your side about another person will make your child to do the same but if you negatively gossip about someone else, the chances of your child picking up this habit will be much higher. So it is up to you be careful of what you say in your child's presence; if you want to say something that he should not be hearing, then refrain from doing so or make sure that he is out of the room before you voice your opinions.

Whenever you have a fight with your spouse or disagreement with another person, do your respond by attacking the person physically or verbally or do you talk about how to resolve the problem amicably? Remember, your response is keenly observed by your child who will tend to do the same when he has a conflict with another person. Parents as role models to children must understand that a child who has observed peace and maturity in such situations tend to demonstrate the same behavior while children who observe their parents attacking another person verbally tend to repeat the same.

These questions will illustrate how children tend to observe every aspect of their parents' behavior towards the child, with each other and with outsiders. The way we act is how our children will act later on in their life. This single understanding is the key to becoming a good role model for your little one. Parents as role models to children have a huge responsibility in the kind of individual the child becomes later on in life. So make a resolution and watch your behavior so that your child grows up watching only that is good and worthy in life.