by Dawn Hawkins

Created on: January 16, 2010

Fathers have a huge role in modeling healthy relationships for their children. It is the parents who teach children everything they know about relationships. If you don't have healthy relationships, you won't teach your children how to have them.

Here are ten ways in which fathers model healthy relationships for their children:

How You Treat Their Mother- Treat the children's mother with great respect. Do not talk down to her and don't treat her like her opinion doesn't matter. Your children are watching and sons will treat their wives the same way as you treat their mother. Girls will grow up finding men who treat them the way you treat their mother. Show your children a healthy relationship with their mother and they will choose good mates for their future.

How You Treat Your Parents- Treat your parents with love and kindness. Listen to what they have to say and enjoy being around them. Don't talk bad about your parents in front of your children either. If you treat your parents as though their opinions matter, your children will model after you.

How You Treat Your Children- Treat your children with love and tenderness. Be understanding of when they make mistakes. Be forgiving but strict. The way your treat your children is likely to be the way they treat theirs.

How You Treat Your Friends- Call your friends back when you say you are going to. When you are around your friends, let your children see what friends are supposed to be like. As you choose your friends, so they shall choose theirs.

How You Treat Your Work Relationships- Give your co-workers respect. Don't bring work home with you talking bad about one of your co-workers. Children hear these things and repeat your patterns when they grow up.

How You Treat Acquaintances- There are even relationships with acquaintances. Be kind and caring about people that you don't know that well. Your children are always  watching you.

How You Treat Those You Don't Like- It is hard to be nice to people you really don't like. It is important that you do it anyway. You don't have to become their best friend. Just don't be rude to them. Your children should be able to see that you can get along with people even when you don't like them.

How You Feel About God- God can make all the difference in a healthy relationship and a not so healthy relationship. What your relationship is like with God will model how close your children will become with him.

How You Treat Yourself- Treat yourself as though you love yourself. For one thing, you should love yourself. The other thing is that your children need to see that you do. This will present a good model for them and how they feel about themselves.

How You Treat Your Money- You have a relationship with your money. You need to have a healthy relationship with it. You are showing your kids how to deal with finances when you are dealing with your money. Treat it with respect and understand good spending habits versus bad spending habits.

All of these relationships play a big role in a father's life. They also play a big role in the way fathers model healthy relationships for their children. Your children watch everything their fathers do. It is because they want to be just like them. This is one occasion where you can't chance treating others poorly.

Learn more about this author, Dawn Hawkins.
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