11 Ways to Be the Best Role Model to Your Child

Parents want their little ones to be the best that they can be. This is standard for parents, as they all want their children to excel. While parenting is far from easy, it can also be difficult from time to time to set the right path for your child. Simply put, you can’t always control the environment they’re in. 

But in general, as a parent, you should always motivate your child to be the best versions of themselves. Children look up to their parents, they often try to emulate what their parents are doing. So why not be a good role model for them? Children learn most from their parents, so acting as a role model towards them is going to be the best way to shape your child’s future.

Why should a parent be a role model to their child?

Nurturing your child is only one part of being a parent, it goes far beyond that. Bringing up a child in this world has a lot of responsibilities, and they all need to be fulfilled. Every parent wants nothing but the best for their child, but it’s up to the parent to teach their child right from wrong. Setting a good example will lead your child to pick up the same habits and viewpoints as you have. 

This can include having similar attitudes towards academics, work ethic, moral choices, and even their relationships with friends and family. Acting as a positive role model is one of the best things you can do to set your child up for a bright future.

How to be an effective role model for your little one

Nobody is perfect, this includes parents as well.  But you don’t need to be perfect in order to be a great role model to your children. All your children’s needs would be your love, guidance, and support. But it’s also important to know that you shouldn’t create unrealistic boundaries or expectations towards your children (and yourself). If you’re wanting to be an effective role model and have the best relationship with your children, then these are some ways you can do that.

Begin early

You’re going to want to try to begin acting as a role model as soon as possible, so the sooner and earlier you get started on this, the better. Young kids are very impressionable, even if they can’t communicate too well, they’ll be able to pick up on their parents’ actions. Even if you think that baby steps aren’t massive steps, you’d be completely wrong. So go ahead and get a head start and begin teaching your little one early!

Be open and transparent

Your children need to know the real you. They need to know that their parents have made mistakes, and their parents aren’t perfect, just like them. Everyone has their mistakes, and it’s going to make your children feel a lot more normal if they see that their parents are making mistakes too. So talk to your child about some of the mess-ups you’ve made. Let them know about some of the good and bad choices you’ve made in your time. It’s going to let them know you’re just like them.

Being transparent with them is going to help in getting them to trust you, learn from your past experiences, and can build a bond. You should never hold some unrealistic positive image of yourself. This image isn’t going to help you, it’s not going to help your child, it’s only going to create fallbacks if anything else.

Show lots of love and affection

Unconditional love and care can be so powerful, love is nurturing the positives in your child. Show love and affection goes beyond those sweet hugs and kisses. Instead, show some interest in your child. Let them know your presence, that you’re there to support them.  Sometimes, just knowing that you’re going to be there, and knowing that you’re going to be reliable is going to be more than enough for your children. It will boost their confidence and self-esteem.

Let them know you’ll be there for them

Children are going to make mistakes and plenty of them. This can only extend to adulthood. This doesn’t mean that you failed as a parent or as a role model. Just sometimes, things change or mistakes just happen. Whether they’re needing money for bail bonds release, needing to pay fines or some other form of help, just know that not everyone is perfect. This also doesn’t mean that you should constantly fix mistakes either.

In general, people make mistakes, let your children know they can reach out to you for help. Let them know that you’ll be there for them. But also make sure there are boundaries set in place so they can’t take advantage of you or the family.  Be gentle, yet, be stern with them as well. This is one of the best things a role model can do.

Stay positive

Positivity goes such a long way. This is a great way to help set your child to think positively rather than negatively. This mindset is going to help them think of the silver lining. Being positive can also mean just taking on the difficulties of life and the challenges that come with it, but knowing in the end, that everything will be okay.

Be the best version of yourself

If you’re wanting to have a child that’s the best version of themselves, then you’re going to have to be the best version of yourself as well. Whatever you do or say may impact your child and influence them. So your best bet is to strive to be the best version of yourself so your child will see you as an inspiration and will want to be the best version of themselves as well. Your actions, thoughts, words, ideas, all of this can be an influence. Children, especially those younger than teens want to emulate their parents. So let them emulate the best version of you.

Be genuine

In order to set your child on the right path and to be the best role model for them, you’re going to need to be genuine. This ties greatly into being transparent and open with them. Let them know what your intentions are. Children are smart, and they can see if someone is being genuine or not.

Strive for self-improvement

There’s always room for making changes about oneself, changes that are aimed to be for the better. You most certainly can teach an old dog new tricks. So why not begin on self-improvement. This is going to teach your child that they should never stop growing, and never stop learning. Let them know that’s it’s great to learn something new every day. 

Let them know that this is empowering. In order to be the best role model, it’s important to show that you’re willing to grow and learn, and they should too.  You want to safeguard your child in all aspects possible, so letting them know they should always strive to learn will achieve just that.

Have self-control

Self-control is something that everyone struggles with. It’s understandable, some things just seem far more tempting than others. But you need to let your child know that good role model have self-control. So you need to have good self-control so it will reflect on them. Releasing emotions can at times be a good thing. It helps with reducing stress, it’s normal, it’s healthy. But there can be consequences of this as well.  

It’s essential to practice self-control, and it’s essential that children practice this as well.  But self-control goes further than just holding your tongue or trying to control your temper. It’s knowing right from wrong and knowing what can and can’t be done. Self-control and discipline go together and this shouldn’t be neglected either. Self-control is understanding what moderation is. Self-control isn’t fun, in fact, it can feel like torture from time to time. But improving this about yourself, and teaching this to your child, especially at a young age can be so impactful.

Showing respect

A good role model shows respect, not just respect for themselves but for others around them. A good role model treats others the way they want to be treated. Showing respect for others also demonstrates good leadership skills, which is something that everyone needs.

Listen

Another trait of a good role model and a good leader is being a good listener. Leaders talk less and listen more. This is also going to reassure your child that you’re going to be there to listen to them, their emotions, thoughts, and opinions. Just listening carefully is also going to let them realize that this is a very important trait to have. 

So open your mind, open your ears, and listen to what your child has to say. This is going to give them self-confidence that they know they’re being heard. It’s also going to turn around on them and they’ll know that they’ll need to do the same in life as well.