My wife recently showed me an old video from when our oldest son Connor was only 2 years old. I was out cutting the grass and he was right behind me with his toy mower. When I stopped, he stopped. When I pulled the cord to restart the lawnmower, he pretended to do it on his. We laughed at how cute it was and she started to well up with some tears of the fond memory. 

Kids are very observant and are copycats by nature. They watch every single thing you do, and it shapes them. You have a very impactful position in your child’s life and the way they develop into adults is a direct reflection of the job you are doing as a father. Being a good example to your child is important. Here are four examples you need to set for your kids.

1. Showing Up Even When It’s Inconvenient

Great dads need to make sacrifices for their family. It’s deciding to choose your daughter’s recital instead of taking your friend’s extra ticket to a baseball game or rescheduling a meeting at work so you won’t be home late on your wife’s birthday. If you shudder at the thought of doing these things, you need to get our priorities straight. If you don’t, your kids’ priorities won’t be straight, either.

2. Avoiding Slippery Slopes at All Costs

Steer away from the things that might threaten your integrity, your marriage, or your family’s wellbeing. If you have a peer at work who repeatedly urges you to cut corners like he does, stop eating lunch with that guy. If being on Instagram means you spiral down rabbit holes of looking at women who aren’t your wife, delete your account. No momentary convenience, pleasure, or loophole is worth pursuing if it also going to damage your integrity or devastate your family.

3. Prioritize Your Wife

A friend told me early in my marriage to make sure to “keep dating my wife”. I thought that sounded a little weird and then we had our first child. Life gets busy and too many times your personal schedule gets dictated by everything you are doing for kid’s extra curricular activities. Make sure you intentionally make time for your wife. Schedule date nights in your calendar like you would a work meeting. Show your kids an example of how they should treat their wife when they get married.

4. Filter What You Are Watching and Listening To

I love a great action movie, but I realized some of the things I watched, especially the ones rated “R”, wasn’t something I should do in front of my kids. I realized the crude humor or excessive violence wasn’t bringing out the best in me. Then I paid attention to the lyrics of the music I was listening to and some of the messages didn’t align with who I was. Start choosing media that represents family values that you want to model for your kids. This will benefit you and them.

Sound off– What are some additional ways you can be a good example to your child?

Huddle up– Huddle up with your child and ask them to name some people who are good examples to them.

This article has been featured on the website All Pro Dad. To see more encouraging articles on thier website CLICK HERE.

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