Blog

Being A Good Role Model Starts Early

As parents, we spend so much of our time raising our kids to do the right things. We instill good study habits in school, and we teach them manners and to be respectful of others. We set up rules they need to follow while living under our supervision and if they break those rules, there will be consequences for their actions. Sound familiar?

Without realizing it, our kids are watching us. It doesn’t really matter what we’re doing, their eyes are on us. Oh, and they listen to everything they are not supposed to hear and rarely listen to what they should. You know what I mean. They listen to our conversations and pick up information we say on a regular basis. Sometimes they do it without realizing it. We know they do it, but we continue with our lives with the best intentions possible.

When you’re out socializing and consuming alcohol, are your kids still watching you? Most likely they are, so are you doing anything responsible to become their role model even while socializing? You know what I mean. Are you drinking responsibly so you would be safe and legal to drive home afterward? Are you making arrangements to get you and your family home if you have been drinking too much to do that yourself? Do you take the responsibility to determine if you’ve had too much to drink that taking an Uber, a taxi, or calling someone to pick you up is the right move? Do you make these decisions even when you’re not with them or do you decide to drive home impaired, hoping you’ll make it without being caught?

We know as parents we should never follow the rule of “do as I say, not as I do”. There’s often that little voice in the back of many parents’ heads that tells them “don’t do it. The kids may be watching.” This little voice will often help parents stay in line and do the proper, responsible thing when there is the temptation to do the wrong thing. That same voice in our head also lets us know we’re doing the right thing. That’s reassuring.

Like any other part of your responsibility as a parent, becoming a role model is important as our kids do look up to us. They’ll often wonder why they can’t do certain things when you can. Having a double standard with rules doesn’t make us good role models. So, why not make responsibility something they can learn from so when they get to be of age to consume alcohol?

Having personal or individual breathalyzers from Not Your Child Corp makes the responsibility of being a role model to your kids that much easier and stronger when it comes to alcohol consumption. They’ll realize you take impaired driving seriously. Having them watch you use the breathalyzer prior to driving will show them over the years that you take nothing for granted. It becomes a lifestyle. The new normal. They will often take what they have seen from you for years as a way of life.