Katharine Bosman gives us five people she would love her kids to look up to.

Providing role models for our kids is something I can feel a little overwhelmed by, if I think about it too much, because of course, as parents, we are the primary role models in the early years. Obviously that shifts as they get older (but that’s a whole other area to worry about!). So while I try to model aspects of behaviour I feel to be important, I find it’s also useful to talk to our kids about some amazing people – people who don’t have to get involved in the daily nitty-gritty of family life and thus can remain perfect in their infallibility… 

So here are five people who embody some pretty incredible aspects of humanity - people I’d love my kids to look up to. In a world of conspicuous consumption, it’s so important to remind children that they don’t need to aspire to accumulating great wealth. And that in fact they may well be happier individuals if they don’t, but instead seek a fulfilled life in other ways. For me, kindness is top of the list of essential attributes. I talk to my kids about this a lot. I think all these people have kindness at their core, plus various other brilliant strengths too. 

You’ll notice that there are four women and only one man on the list. There are two reasons for this. One, I often think women are more inspiring because they’ve just had to work a darn sight harder to achieve whatever it is they have accomplished. And two, it’s problematic that girls can aspire to be like amazing men, but I don’t think boys are often encouraged enough to look up to equally wonderful women. Let’s sort this out. 

Florence Nightingale 

Florence Nightingale is an obvious one in many ways – one of the most famous nurses in history. But what I particularly like about her is the fact that in her outrage at so many people dying in hospitals unnecessarily, she used her mathematical brain. She was one of the first to display information using pie charts. Her knowledge, her determination and her brilliant use of statistics all contributed to the long-lasting and life-saving changes she was able to achieve. 

Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. He was instrumental in opposing the Vietnam war and he founded the Plum Village community in France. Children learn about war in history lessons, in the news, and of course they encounter play-fighting early on in life. It seems important to talk about the other side of the coin: peaceful solutions to conflict, and, linked to this, the idea of peaceful community living. I’m always excited by people who think outside the usual conventions in terms of ways to be personally happy and contribute to society. Never too early to introduce kids to this. 

Andria Zafirakou

Andria Zafirakou won the global best teacher award in 2018. An art teacher at a school in Brent, she has spent time and energy ensuring that her pupils (many of whom live in adverse family situations) can travel to school safely, that they have enough to eat, and that they have quiet time to study if they aren’t able to achieve that at home. Absolute commitment to supporting and bettering children’s lives. She is clearly creative, energetic, talented and, most of all, kind. 

Rosa Parks

Again maybe an obvious role model. But what interests me about Rosa Parks is her quiet strength (in fact the title of her autobiography). She was an introvert and she had the courage and conviction to fight something she believed to be fundamentally wrong. This seems such an important lesson for anyone, especially maybe those quiet boys who may struggle in a world where being confident and outspoken are seen as such positive attributes. 

Matilde Montoya

Matilde Montoya was the first female doctor in Mexico. She knew she had the talent and skills to practise as a doctor, but she had to fight hard for the right to study and qualify. Some vital stuff here I think – about the tenacity needed to be the person you believe you can be and to create the change you want to see in the world. And about the value of education. I’m sure many children take this for granted. But we shouldn’t, and it does no harm to be reminded of this. 

Katharine Bosman lives in London and is the mother of two children. She spent ten years working for a social justice campaigning organisation, and is energised by where parenthood is taking her.