14 DAY TRIAL // Parents often blame celebrity culture for the way their children dress or act, and the dispute of whether stars should ever be considered role models for the young will probably never die down. On this note, a recent survey conducted in the UK shows that an overwhelming majority of adults also sees stars like footballer David Beckham and singer Cheryl Cole as the “best role models” for its children, as the Daily Mail informs.
Almost 2,000 adults took part in the survey and many of them were very convincing when they said that they believed celebrities did make for good role models to which the children could look up, even if this also revealed another cruel fact: less and less kids at the moment looked up to their own parents, the Mail points out. This also goes to strengthen the warning issued by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers last year, which said that celebrities were setting bad examples for impressionable teens and kids.
“More than half of the adults questioned – 55 per cent – said the former England captain was a good, or very good, role model. However, not everyone believes that Beckham is someone to look up to, with 18 per cent saying he sets a bad example. The chief role model for girls was Cheryl Cole, who came second in the poll, with 40 per cent rating her positively. She was regarded as a bad role model by 27 per cent. Homer Simpson was voted the worst role model for children.” the British publication says of the findings of the survey.
The problem with celebrities as role models is that children tend to imitate everything they see and they don’t look up to them only in terms of wanting to be successful in life. For instance, kids would also try to copy their idol’s look, even if that included tattoos or dressing inappropriately, the aforementioned Association was saying as early as last year. Then again, if children look up to celebrities instead of their parents, then it’s the parents’ fault for not being a good role model, the Mail concludes.
“This poll reflects our concerns that many children are living without positive role models. If children are not looking up to adults this is not the children’s fault. Adults have a collective responsibility to make childhood better for all children.” Rashid Iqbal, director of The Children’s Society’s National Menfortoring Initiative, which conducted the survey, also points out for the Daily Mail.