The words of the father
I am sure we can all remember some snippets of advice and wisdom
that our fathers have imparted to us. Being a young boy raised in Canada, one
of the first ones that I remember from my dad was ‘don’t eat the yellow
snow.’
The relationship between a father and his children is a significant one. A father is the most important male role model in a child’s life and for many, especially sons, their first hero. How a dad goes about sharing life lessons with his children will be different from one to another. However, the time he spends with his children provides an opportunity for teaching those little gems of advice and expectations that will help his children develop into the kind of people he hopes they will be.
When I was growing up, I did many things with my father. These were special moments where I learned from watching and listening to him. He taught me by spending time with me. He spent hours playing catch with me in our yard so that I could learn how to play baseball. He spent hours coaching my ice-hockey team when I was a four-year-old playing outside in freezing temperatures and rubbing my feet between periods telling me “It will be okay” and getting me back on the ice. He spent hours making an ice rink in our backyard so that I could learn how to skate. It took me a while to understand and appreciate the efforts he made for me when I was young.
Most fathers try not to lecture or give long diatribes to their
children about how they should be; they try to model it. As a father, I would
hope that what I say and do day-to-day will help my children grow up into the
kind of people I wish for them to be. I try to model for my children love
through how I treat their mother, and politeness in how I treat other people. I
hope that the way I talk about the things I value and, most importantly,
demonstrate this in my day-to-day actions, will help them turn into good
people.
As a father of young children and the son of a father, I guess the proof of the efforts we put in as parents comes out when our children become grown-ups. Do we see in them the values we tried to instil? Are they good people? Are they kind? Do they work hard? I guess time will tell, but each little effort we put in now, each word that we say to our children and each moment we spend with them will help construct the men (and the women) we hope they will become.
John Stewart
Head of Preparatory School