Why Setting a Good Example for Others Matters

Children need a good example of how to become adults, which is why they have parents. Sometimes parents make really crummy choices and sometimes they make good ones. Fathers, in particular, can set a good example for both their sons and daughters with how they behave and conduct themselves. The mother-child bond always gets lots of attention, but new studies reveal the importance of a father’s role in a kid’s development, which can impact personal and social growth. This may be of equal importance to a child as the mother-child bond.

A Matter of Fathers

Awareness of how men shape their children’s lives is just being noticed it seems. Rejection by one parent, especially a father, can drive kids to be more hostile and aggressive. When children face trauma or neglect, they may be more likely to develop low self-esteem, and have feelings of inadequacy, or a negative outlook on life. Teen boys may face risk factors without fathers including depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and other issues. Teen boys who grow up with secure fathers in their lives generally are seen to have a better sense of well-being, higher levels of happiness, and overall life satisfaction. Fathers matter, but it can be hard to figure out how to role model being a good father when a person’s own father was absent, neglectful, or abusive.

Being A Role Model

Fathers can assess their role modeling by thinking more about how kids love to mimic their parents. They look up to them from a young age, talk like them, and also try to do the same things as them. Role models sometimes don’t even realize just how much a person looks up to them until the child has gotten older. Modeling appropriate behavior takes work. It means being intentional about the things a person wants to teach to a young child. This includes:

How to work hard (work ethic)
Effective communication
How to treat women
How to behave when angry or stressed
Changing personal behavior to be better for the child

Fathers have a unique duty to be present for their kids in a different way than mothers do. There are cultural messages about what a man should be, do, sound, or act like, and all of this can be detrimental to a child’s life when inappropriate messages are passed down from the family to the child or through societal stereotypes. It is difficult to know how to role model appropriate behavior when it was not modeled for you. In doing some positive role playing, attending parenting classes, and learning how to engage with family in a way that is positive, a father can begin to effectively create space for ways to be present in a way that perhaps their father and role models were not and begin to change the dynamics of the relationship, and even the child’s life, so they can have a healthier future and relationship with the child.

The Last Resort provides a safe, supportive environment for men in a retreat-like setting. Our goal is to help you become a better father, man, role model, and overall person with our program that focuses on your personal recovery and healing journey. We strive to provide a place of enrichment that cultivates the inner as well as the outer journey of recovery. However you find your way to the Last Resort, we endeavor to provide a haven where you can journey through recovery feeling like your life and story have meaning and a purpose. Call us to find out more: 512-750-6750.