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Jakob Barker

Ms. T

English 2010

19 April 2019

Role Models

What is it that exactly makes this world unique? The answer is humans; the people on

this planet are what make it so special. As individuals on this great Earth we are what can change

the way everything is. People can make changes for the better, they can grow, help others, clean

the Earth. On the other hand though, humans can make things worse. They can cause heartache

and pain in others, they can ruin lives, they can destroy this amazing planet given to them. There

is so much potential for this Earth and the people on it. The thing is whether or not as a society

they will step up and achieve their potential, or make things in this world worse. This all starts

with one person at a time. One person begins to fix things and becomes a better version of

themselves and then they teach others to do the same. Over time problems in this world have

gotten worse and worse and not a lot of people are stepping up to fix the problems going on. One

huge reason people do not fix themselves or problems going on is that they do not know what is

going on. People do not know all the challenges going on in the world and most of them can not

fix the challenges they are struggling with themselves. If people can not fix the problems they

are dealing with they will not be able to help with problems other people are dealing with. When

looking past just the individual it actually is bigger than that it also comes down to a whole

generation. Generations continue to slack and things in the world keep getting worse. This

includes the current young generation. This generation is slacking in so many things that the
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world is slacking also. To fix these problems the young generation needs to become successful in

their own lives so then they can help out others and this planet. For the youth to become

successful there needs to be role models to teach them. Parents, coaches, teachers, Uncle, family

friend, etc… can all be great role models for the youth. Some things young adults learn on their

own but most of the learning and knowledge they receive is from role models and parents. With

this information it is time to show how important the adults are for everything. The adults leave

the next generation the world, so what the young generation does when they are adults affects the

next generation so it all starts with the adults and role models right now.

Parents and role models do not understand how vitally important they are in the youths

lives. Adults shape and mold kids to become the future. What the adults teach and do is reflected

into the youth today and the youth will pick up on those habits whether they be good or bad. The

University of Kobe led by Nishimura Kazuo and Yagi Tadashi did a research on parenting and

how it affects youth. In one part of their research they said “​A research group have released

survey results showing that children who receive positive attention and care from their parents

have high incomes, high happiness levels, academic success, and a strong sense of morality.”

(pg. 1). They are the research group that is backing this up. The crazy thing about this is all the

truth that comes behind it. A lot of people do not realize how much this is actually true. When

there are good parents and they treat and raise their kid right their kid is going to be successful.

Not only will they be successful in their careers and in school it will also help them with their

emotional stability. They feel loved and cared for so they are a lot more cheerful. All of this can

happen but the sad thing is it does not always happen. This exact type of caring and loving
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parenting, which can raise great kids, can be flipped around where bad parenting can bring up

bad kids.

Just how good parenting can bring up good kids, bad parenting can bring up bad kids.

The roles and the outcomes are easily reversible. Martinez Elisa did a research showing how bad

parenting can affect the youth, in her research she found how big of an impact bad parents can

have on kids. In her research she said “Having a poor parent might make a child feel unloved and

uncared about, Lack of support from parents and harsh or negative parenting strategies might

increase the risk of depression in children, not having a parent to turn to during the childhood

years can result in mood disorders as a child gets older.” (pg 2). Clearly what she is saying is

true. When kids do not have parents that support and love them, they can get depressed, have

mood swings, and with these things it could possibly lead to suicide. Obviously this is not always

the case but it definitely is a possibility. Also if there is bad parenting a kid is less likely to

succeed. The bad traits and actions that have been passed to a parents kid can ruin their future.

They could not be successful, they drop out of school, they do not really care about anything; all

of this can happen with bad parenting. If there is no one to look to for guidance or assistance they

rely all on themselves and some kids benefit from this but most will not. They are young and do

not know a whole lot about the world so they will struggle. Then when life gets hard all on their

own and they do not have their parents or anyone to turn to they give up or get into bad habits.

This is also why having a role model to come to is really important if parents are not doing their

jobs.

Parents are not always the best. People make mistakes and nobody is perfect so parents

are not going to be perfect parents. Children and young adults make mistake too so when
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mistakes are made walls can not come up. When walls come up and the adult and the youth get

mad at eachother that is when things go bad. Slowly push eachother away and sooner or later

they hate eachother and do not even want to talk anymore. This can be fixed though, and there is

still an opporunity to become a great parent. On the website “Being a Role Model” it says “Walk

the Talk, Review your Own Behavior and Attitudes, Model through your Words, Be Forgiving

of Mistakes, Modeling through your Actions.” (under section called “How to be a Good Role

Model). These are some quick tips on how to be a good role model or parent. If something is not

going quite right with the child be forgiving and loving. Also show support to the youth and give

them hope. Role models need to begin doing these things, but it comes down to them on how

they want to behave. Adults can have a huge impact on the younger generation, but being to have

an impact the youth they need to take care of themselves first. They need to live in a way that is

an example to the youth.

Adults and basically everyone do not realize how much of an impact they have on those around

them. Everything someone does people are almost always watching and seeing that behavior and

they reflect it sometimes, especially with younger kids. Another quote on the website ​Being a

Role Model s​ ays “Common sense, simple observation, and psychological research that these

down home adages reflect a truth in human development - that children often grow up to mimic

the behavior, beliefs, and attitudes of their parents.” (Pg. 2). Kids grow up to be like their

parents. What the adult does and how they behave is picked up on by their child. Even if they do

not have a child other kids are looking at them like they are a role model. Most of the time kids

will turn out like their parents. As a parent you need to act and behave like you would like your

child to behave. Traits are translated through to the youth. It all comes down to the adults to
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bring up an amazing generation so the world and their kids can be successful. If parents and role

models do their part then the youth will begin to do their part. It all starts with one person at a

time.

Works Cited

Casey, Annie. “Single Parents Are Raising More Than One-Third of U.S. Kids | KIDS COUNT

Data Center.” ​KIDS COUNT Data Center: A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation​,

12 June 2018.

“Being a Role Model - The Promise and the Peril.” ​The Center for Parenting Education​, 2017.

Martinez, Eliza. “The Effects of Bad Parenting on Children.” ​How To Adult​, 26 Sept. 2017.

University , Kobe. “How Your Parenting Style Affects Your Child's Future.” ​ScienceDaily,​

ScienceDaily, 17 June 2016.