How Parents Can Help Create Heroes

Parents are the most common heroes for children.  That was pretty clear at Indian Woods on Friday as many students chose a parent as their hero.  How can parents make sure that they’re being the best hero they can be?  The In Search of Heroes blog has a question and answer session in which that question is answered.

One answer is to lead by example.  Children are very good at observing behaviour – especially that of parents.  It does no good to preach kindness when you are mean to people while you’re shopping, for example.  Another answer is to get out of their way.  A trap many parents fall into is to try to make their kids better versions of themselves.  I watched “The Squid and the Whale” last night and there was a prime example in that.  Kids need to be able to make their own choices, instead of having them forced on them.  Finally, a great answer that mirrors what I’m trying to teach here is that parents should expose their children to heroes in books, movies, and real life.  Show them heroes so they can learn how to be a hero.