One of the most controversial topics when it comes to a child's well-being are role models in media. Whether it be movies, shows, or books, parents are sensitive to who their little one looks up to. Some parents want them to look up to someone like Cinderella, who is kind and generous and doesn't judge no matter how awful someone treats them.

Other parents don't want their kids even looking at Cinderella since they believe she just waited around for a man before she was ever truly happy. Whatever the parent decides, their intention is the same as the next parent. That is to make sure their child can grow up with good qualities about them to help them succeed in life.

Role models are sometimes expected to be perfect. They can't have any bad qualities about them or else the parent worries that their child will grow up thinking that some bad qualities are ok to have. I get it, but at the same time, what's wrong with having a role model who isn't perfect?

Let's look at some examples. If you grew up in the 90's, you most likely watched Sailor Moon every week. Serena, the main character who transformed into Sailor Moon, wasn't even close to perfect.

She didn't do well in school as she always failed her tests. She overate. She never paid attention to what was important, like missions regarding crime-fighting. She was a big crybaby and could rarely fight back.

Her qualities were definitely not up to par with some parents to be a role model, even if the company that dubbed the show ended each episode with a segment called "Sailor Says" to educate children.

Despite all of these bad qualities Serena had, I still found her to be a good role model. Hear me out. In the beginning of the show, she wasn't the best hero that children could look up to. Yet as the show progressed, she became more open to learning about her mission and what was important to save the world.

She became more mature as the show went on. It was a process, but she slowly became a good role model for children. This may make you wonder if kids should have even watched the show to begin with. I believe so. Here's why. Watching the show from beginning to end allowed children to see that we all don't start out perfect, but we can grow and mature through learning and taking life's hardships.

Another good example that is a lot similar to Serena is Queen Elsa from the film Frozen. Today, she is a very popular character amongst young children. Some parents don't see her as a good role model since they believed she ran away from her problems instead of facing them head-on.

However, she was raised to think that the only way to keep from hurting people was to hide. She wasn't sure what else she was supposed to do. Sure, that doesn't give her an excuse to show that quality to children, but if you keep watching the movie to the end, you see that just like Serena, she learns.

She learns through trials and errors how to control her snow powers without hurting anyone. This is a good metaphor for dealing with anxiety and depression, which some kids at a young age may not realize they have. They can look at Elsa and know that whatever internal struggle they're dealing with, they can learn to control and still be with their loved ones.

Imperfect role models are a more realistic approach to learning how to deal with real life. It's hard to relate to a Mary Sue when we as human beings aren't perfect. So why not watch characters who aren't perfect themselves to relate and grow with?