Role Model

I know this is not health/fitness related, but I have been thinking about this a lot. Although I think happiness is a huge part of health. What type of person do you want your children to look up to? I do not know about you, but there are a lot of "role models" out there that I do not want my children to even see let alone look up to. Obviously my ideal role model for our children would be us, their Mommy and Daddy. Right now at such a young age this is true, but what happens when they get older? I most certainly do not want them looking up to Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus. That would be horrifying if they were my children's role models. So what do you look for in a person that makes you think yes he/she would be an excellent role model for my children? I think honesty, hard work, dedication, kindness, loyalty, and fairness are just a few of the qualities I would like in a role model for my children.

I will never force my own beliefs on my children. Yes their Daddy and I are both Christian, and the hope is that they will be as well. However, I cannot force that belief on my own children. I can raise them and teach them the things that their Daddy and I believe in, but in the end it is their own decision to make. Also their Daddy is a Republican (although he says he leans more to a Libertarian) and I am a Democrat (yes I am a Liberal Christian we do exist :) ). So which way is right for our children? Well again that is up to them. All we can do is share with them what our beliefs are and teach them right from wrong. When they are older they can make those decisions for themselves. I think that is one thing that is wrong everyone has their own beliefs and gets so upset when someone else  does not believe the same way that they do. Well I am just as entitled to my beliefs as you are, and I am not changing yours so why try to change mine. The same thing is true with my children. I may disagree with some decisions they make in the future, but those are their mistakes to make not mine. I have definitely made some mistakes in my past.

Ok so I got a little off topic there, I tend to do that a lot. So how do I make sure my children are surrounded with the role models I would like them to be. I think first off it starts at home. Their Daddy and I need to make sure we are displaying all the qualities we would want them to be surrounded with. Also the people that are in our lives and have contact with our children should have those same qualities. I can say that I think my husband and I and our family and friends all have those qualities. I would love for any of my family and friends to be a role model for my children. One important thing I must mention here is that I do not have all the same beliefs as all of these people, but I love the fact that our children are surrounded by a diverse group of thinkers. They can be exposed to other views on things, and know that there is nothing wrong with them if they do not agree with us, and that we will still love them. Because we love each and every one of the people that I would love to be their role models. Even the one's we disagree with :)

As far as "famous" people go I honestly cannot think of a lot of people I would want my children to look up to. Can you? Please leave me a comment with someone you would want your kids to look up to. So how do I "protect" them while not sheltering them? I do not want them to live a life where they do not know anything other than what they were raised with. I think it is important that they know about other cultures, religions, lifestyles etc...(Yes that is the liberal in me speaking :) ), but I also do not want them exposed to too much. It is a fine line. Whoever said this parenting thing was easy was a liar. It is tough everyday to keep our kids safe and innocent as long as possible while still trying to teach them right from wrong. Here is an example when the school shooting at Sandy Hook happened my oldest son was in kindergarten. Obviously this terrified me since most of the children were kindergarteners. I vividly remember hysterically crying when I picked my son up from school that day. He said Mommy what is wrong. I could have easily told him nothing Mommy is just upset and shielded him from knowing about that, but I told him what happened. To me with him being in the setting 5 days a week that this happened in I thought it was important that he knew. We explained what happened, and what he should try to do if he ever hears anything like that happen at his school (that is probably one of the hardest sentences I have ever written. I am crying just thinking about that). Yes it may have been too much to tell our 5 year old about, but we thought it was important for him to know. There are lots of things in this world that I shield them from. It is a tough decision everyday to decide what we should expose them to, and what we should not expose them to. In the end only you as parents can make that decision.  See I am getting off topic again.

Anyway I think in the end what I am trying to say is try to surround yourself with people you would want your children to be like. If there is a person I would not want them to be like then I do not have them around my children. We cannot control our children's lives, but we can try to make the best positive influences that we possibly can. Raise them with the beliefs and values that you see fit, but in the end realize they are their own person and they should be able to make their own decisions just as you have. I'm not saying those decisions won't break your heart sometimes, but just love them and be there for them when they need you always.

I hope I did not ramble too much for all of you. I would love any insight, tips, comments you may have. I am perfectly fine if you disagree with me. Tell me about it. As I said we are all entitled to our own opinions. I would love to hear yours.