Personal values, both enabling and disabling, always transfer from parent to child. Too much free time erodes good values. Emphasize your children's achievements, no matter how small, instead of their or your symbols of success. Don't compete with your children. Always teach your children discipline and frugality.
Parental success is the passing of values to children.
Struggle provides meaning to whatever you do on a daily basis. Each person has a personal set of values which are transferred by example. Parents who are in touch with their teenagers, who make a point of spending time with them, and communicate values and expectations, are more likely to raise teens who don't smoke, drink, and experiment with drugs and sex. We have come to believe as kids get older, parents become less important and peers take over. The federally-funded study was based on a sample of 90,000 seventh through twelfth graders nationwide and interviews with more than 12,000 of them at their homes.