Mom Seriously: Emulating Good Mentors

Role models themselves present somewhat of a paradox for parents. We want our kids to have people to look up to, but we realize that no one on earth is perfect. It’s a lot of pressure to be a role model, and it’s a huge responsibility. These days we have athletes and celebrities who are very uncomfortable being role models. They shrug it off because they just really don’t want it. Maybe they don’t like being accountable; they don’t like having to answer for what they do. But the very nature of being in the public eye puts these folks in the way of being admired and looked up to as role models.

Several years ago when my boys were younger and just starting to play baseball, they were big fans of Arod. (I like Arod too; I actually carry one of his baseball cards with me just in case I ever run into him somewhere, LOL.) We were watching a Yankees-Red Sox game when the pitcher just barely missed hitting Arod, and Arod just let loose with a stream of cursing. Although they were bleeping it out, it was very easy to read his lips. That's when I told my sons, “You might want to emulate Arod's batting stance, but what he just exhibited there was a lack of self-control. He didn’t control his anger; he let his anger control him. You don’t want to be like him in that respect.”

As parents, these are the times when we really understand that, when it comes to our kids and this culture, the only role model that we have any real control over is ourselves. And even in that, we will let our kids down. My choice then, is to constantly point my kids to Christ. He is the only perfect One, the only One worth emulating in all things. When it comes to being a role model, I want to offer my kids the example of a life spent following Jesus, leaning on Him, and trusting in Him.

Read the other posts in this series: When Role Models Fall
Real-Life Consequences.
Owning Your Behavior.
Living with Consequences.
Emulating Good Mentors.