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.



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Living with Consequences

When my family was young, we had a dear pastor who once preached a sermon entitled, “You Have to Live in the House You Paint.” He told the story of his neighbor, who was going for dark red siding on his house, but when it dried it was a purply-fuschia color. And this homeowner had to live with it—at least for a while anyway—because it was too big a job to do it over immediately, and of course, there was great expense involved (a price to pay). There is always a consequence. Sometimes it’s temporary; sometimes it’s long-lasting.

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




Don't miss any great parenting info: Subscribe to my daily email newsletter! Click HERE.

Owning Your Behavior

Kids are great at pointing the finger of blame—She made me! Or, He started it! But we have to learn to own our behavior. The only person sitting in that courtroom is Lohan. Friends she might have blamed have left her. She’s the one who has to stand on her own before the judge.

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


Don't miss any great parenting info: Subscribe to my daily email newsletter! Click HERE.

Real-Life Choices

Substance abuse is a choice that kids often make thinking that “just one time” won’t hurt anything. But you don’t know if it will or not. Nobody takes his first drink or his first hit intending to become an addict, intending to become a slave to it. Role-play with your child some different scenarios and talk about how to stand firm on a decision for a substance-free life.

See the other posts in this series: When Role Models Fall

Real-Life Choices.
Owning Your Behavior.
Living with Consequences.
Emulating Good Mentors.




Don't miss any great parenting info: Subscribe to my daily email newsletter! Click HERE.