“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders,” said James Baldwin. “But they have never failed to imitate them.”

Like it or not, you are a model for your child’s character.

Here are some ways you are a moral model:

• When you give to a religious group or a charity, you’re teaching your child that it is important to give to others.
• When you treat your child and others with love and respect, you are teaching him how he should treat others.
• When you leave a note after bumping another car in a parking lot, you are teaching your child that honesty is important even when no one is looking.
• When you spend time cleaning up a park, you are teaching your child to protect our environment.
• When you help your child with a project you said you’d help with even though you’re tired, you are teaching your child that promises matter.
• When you make goals for yourself, and are conscientious about your work, you are showing your child that these things are important.

What affects our children most? It’s usually not the big things. Instead, the small actions repeated over and over have the greatest impact.

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