A good parent is a combination of many different qualities. The most important lesson any mother or father can teach is to give the child a great example of how to deal with difficulties, how to interact with the rest of society, and how to be a decent human being. A quality children must learn from their parents is being proud of who they are and where they came from. A parent who embraces their uniqueness can give a child a sense of self-worth, self-respect, and individuality. Pride is not always about having a big ego, not taking criticism, and being bigheaded. It means embracing one’s heritage, honoring the roots, and valuing legacy. A parent needs to be proud of their traditions, culture, and ancestry because the child will learn from it and continue cherishing the inherited values. This quality may be hard to display many people suffer from low self-esteem. It is, however, an excellent way for the younger generation to be free of other people’s opinions. It also gives the children strength and individuality, which is detrimental to one’s mental health, well-being, and positive outlook on the world.
A great example of such parents is the father from “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert G. Lake-Thom. The dad wants the world to understand his son, so he writes the teacher a letter. He expresses joy and pride when describing his son’s upbringing, how the boy follows the traditions, and how he learns about other tribes. However, the father is unsettled by how the world views the child. He is eager to teach his son to be independent and strong-minded, but others make him feel less of a member of society. The young boy is not strong-minded yet, so he tries to conform to the regular norms. An example would be him cutting his long hair, being embarrassed to sing his native songs, and hiding the fact that his religion does not revolve around the Christian God. He is still very young, and while his father is very proud of his ancestry, the son is not yet mentally ready to go against the world and prove that he is worthy of being seen and heard.
There are many examples of how parents influenced their children by just being proud of who they are. A notorious one is Martin Luther King Jr who was brought up in a society that did not accept him. Instead of adapting and living in shadow, he decided to fight for equality and inclusion. King Jr’s father was the person who engrained pride in his personality. He grew up seeing his dad stand up against discrimination by leaving a shoe store when the clerk asked him to go in the back of the shop. Instead of following the instructions, King Sr. stated that they would not purchase anything if they did not have the right to be treated as any other customer. Small but meaningful events like this gave King Jr. a sense of pride and confidence, and this is how he started the journey of shaping society. He lived with parents who were not trying to hide their ancestry or forget about their heritage. Instead, the King family’s values were based on self-worth. This is how parents’ sense of pride can give children the confidence they need to remain true to themselves and their values.