Parents' Role on the Development of the Youth

Have you noticed how many of the separated or divorced people today have had parents who were separated too? And how many of the people who have extramarital affairs has or had a parent who did the same thing? In my circle of friends, the batting average is quite high.

Parents play a vital role in molding their children to become responsible, respected and morally upright adults. Take the case of Miley Cyrus, the 15-year old girl of Disney's Hannah Montana. I once liked watching her shows with my daughter. But now, after her stint with Vanity Fair and some pictures that show-off her bra, I've discussed with my daughter why she should refrain from watching the actress' shows.

Children get influenced by practically anyone, even their own peers and idols. It is then up to the parents to guide them and tell them what is wrong and why it is wrong. That is of course only possible if the child has an open relationship with her parent, whether mother or father.

We adults should be honest with our children so that they can learn to continue to trust us. We should be able to give them some lee way to let them experience some mistakes but only to some point where we know it is still going to be safe for them. But, the most important thing for us to do is to practice what we preach.

We parents are not perfect either. However, should we be in a situation where our own children point out our mistake, we should genuinely apologize for it and explain to them why we had taken such action. After all, we are the real first role models to the young members of our family.