You will earn the respect of all men if you begin by earning the respect of yourself.
—Musonius Rufus
Every parent wants to be listened to. We want our advice to be taken seriously. We want to be looked up to. Most of all, we want to be respected.
Well, if you want your kids to respect you, be worthy of respect.
Just think about it for a second: Why would they respect advice that you don’t live by? Why would they admire you when you’re not living up to your own potential? Why would they look up to you when you yourself are dealing (poorly) with self-esteem issues, when you have accepted the lies of impostor syndrome and allowed them to affect how you act as a parent? Get your stuff straight. Be the parent you know you can be—be the person you know you can be. The rest will follow. And if it doesn’t? Then at least you’ll be strong enough to deal with whatever comes.