"Parents are the first educators of a child." Indeed, when a person is born into this world, the first people he is in contact with everyday are his parents, whereas a teacher can only come during a later stage in the child's life, and may leave him after just a few years.All through the child's childhood and puberty, parents exert a subtle influence on him, teaching him what to look up to and what to become.

　　In the early years of a child's life, his parents are the ones to teach him the basics of life and the principals of living. They are the ones to teach him how to pronounce the first word, how to stand up and take a few steps, how to greet elders, and in the process of which, they give him the first glimpse of lifehow learning, strength of character and etiquette are essential to one person. These are what my father and mother taught me when I was too young to go to school.

　　Good parents set a good example for a child to abide by, whereas bad parents usually do not have well-behaving children. Isn't it said, "Like father, like son"? Parents are the first people a child learns to respect, because they are his guardians, his elders tied by blood. Being a good parent doesn't necessarily mean that he or she must be knowledgable, or must be able to speak big, wise words that may be difficult to understand. If a parent can teach the child how to behave by behaving himself, he is a good parent even if he is illiterate, or is poor. Thus, a child's character is usually shaped and molded before he attends school under the influence of his parents, and that is more than a good teacher can do to the child with the bearings of knowledge.

　　Good parents are essential to a child's development in that they are the first ever to teach him and that what they deliver is more about life and spirit than knowledge. What they can do is more than what a good teacher can. It suffices to say that good parents are the most important people to a child's development, and not good teachers.