Good Parenting Means Good Role Modeling

The term role model was introduced by Robert K. Merton, a distinguished American sociologist best known for having coined the phrase “self-fulfilling prophecy 롤강의. ” Merton posits that individuals compare themselves with “reference groups” comprised of people, who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires. The term has passed into general use to mean any person who sets an example. Eda LeShan, a family counselor and author about parenting, posits: “The only way to raise a decent human being is by being one. ” These two observers are correct. What children become has to do with the example set by those who raise them. “Monkey see; monkey do. ”

Konrad Z. Lorenz demonstrated how incubator-hatched geese would imprint on the first suitable moving stimulus they saw within what he called a “critical period” of about 36 hours shortly after hatching. Filial imprinting is not restricted to animals that are able to follow their parents. In child development the term is used to refer to the process by which a baby learns who his/her mother and father are. The process is recognized as beginning in the womb, when the unborn baby starts to recognize its parents’ voices (Kisilevsky et al, 2003). This imprinting is further imbued as the child observes and experiences the parent’s behavior, habits, tone of voice, body language, etc.

Parents are the first role model (reference group) a child has. If you doubt the importance of teaching by example, think about your own childhood. How were you influenced to become the person you are-for better or for worse? Does what you learned in school have the most influence on your personality? Were your peers and other adults the most influential? Were you influenced more by movies or television than your parents and family members? How are you like your dad? How are you like your mother? We often hear the comment, “He married a woman just like his mother. ” “She married a man just like her father. ”

There is a reason people make this poignant observation. The Grandparent will do the things on behalf of their children, for they are giving important legacy to their offspring showing the best they can. There are times that they wanted to go to other place, but they cannot post through for they are much worried of the house, and who will manage them. Many times Grandparents are tired of taking care the responsibility but they are very kind enough in making such work. It is not because they don’t like to work but they will do it for their grand children. Merlin the Magician, according to legend, trained the boy who would become King Arthur by transforming him into various animals through which he experienced different ways of thinking about power and groups. As a snow goose, he participates in a peaceful culture in which leaders are chosen based on their ability to navigate. Things are quite the opposite when he is turned into a falcon and nearly killed when a competitor picks a fight with him, or a fish when he is nearly devoured by a much bigger one. As an ant he can only adapt by becoming robotic, hearing “a noise in his head, like a song on the radio that repeats over and over, and he hears a voice, constantly giving him directions, ” because the ant culture has eliminated independent thought.

Merlin’s method would be called “role-taking” in our world, a learning method that is powerfully effective for internalizing an unfamiliar skill or new information, e. g In a recent training seminar, employees of a large non-profit institution that serves the general public were reeling from the consequences of severe cutbacks directly due to donor money that disappeared down the Bernie Madoff rabbit hole. The employees felt understandably defensive and victimized, sandwiched between what felt like an indifferent and distant administration and unforgiving public. We used role-taking to help them view their daily stresses from a number of perspectives: long-term patrons with expectations that could no longer be met; newer patrons who were demanding and unappreciative; empathetic patrons; immediate supervisors; unavailable admnistrators; donors to the institution; investors who lost millions of dollars and shut down entire foundations. This role-taking exercise allowed emotional expression without too much personal exposure and united the group as they explored and practiced a variety of strategies for dealing with the daily frustrations.