Mama, I need to start this article with a stat that made me a little emotional in the pickup line this week:
71% of kids ages 4 to 12 say their parents are the people they look up to most.
That’s you. That’s me. That’s us — the tired, coffee-clutching, laundry-folding, taxi-driving, permission-slip-signing humans who somehow ended up at the very top of our kids’ hero list.
A new survey of 2,000 parents — commissioned by Kiddie Academy and conducted by Talker Research — set out to answer a beautiful question: who are today’s kids looking up to? And the results are equal parts surprising, hilarious, and honestly heart-melting.
Let me break it down.
The Top Heroes of 2026 Childhood
Per the survey, kids’ actual named heroes include:
Everyday people:
- Mom 💛
- Dad 💙
- Grandma
- Grandpa
- Teachers
- Older siblings
Athletes:
- Michael Jordan
- LeBron James
Celebrities:
- John Cena
- Michael Jackson
Superheroes + fictional characters:
- Spider-Man
- Batman
- Superman
- Black Panther
- Rumi from KPop Demon Hunters (this is the one that made me laugh — welcome to 2026, mamas)
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Bluey (the Australian cartoon dog remains supreme in this house and probably yours too)
Reading that list is a masterclass in modern childhood. Our kids are simultaneously looking up to their grandma AND a K-Pop demon hunter. They’re worshipping Michael Jordan AND Sonic. They’re pulling wisdom from Bluey AND Superman. Their heroes cross decades, mediums, and universes — and honestly? That feels really healthy to me.
Who Kids Actually Look Up To (By Category)
Here’s the ranking of WHO kids most look up to in general:
- Parents (71%) — yes, we’re literally #1
- Teachers (40%) — every teacher reading this: THANK YOU
- Siblings (37%) — the good and the complicated
- Extended family (33%) — grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles
- Friends (31%)
- Fictional superheroes (29%)
- Celebrities (22%)
- Fictional characters (22%)
Look at this ranking, mama. The people who actually SHOW UP in our kids’ daily lives are the ones shaping them. Not the influencers. Not the athletes. Not even Spider-Man. YOU.
The invisible work you do every day — packing the lunch, making the appointment, folding the laundry, showing up at pickup, saying yes to the school play, saying no to another late night — it’s not invisible to them.
They see it. And they’re modeling it.
What Makes Someone a “Hero” in a Kid’s Eyes
This part of the survey is what really stopped me. Because the traits kids named as heroic aren’t what I would have guessed:
Top heroic traits per kids:
- Bravery (38%)
- Strength (37%)
- Kindness (37%)
- Honesty (31%)
LESS important to them:
- Moral righteousness (16%)
- Being a risk-taker (13%)
Read that again. Kids rank kindness as HIGHER than being morally righteous. They rank honesty higher than daring risk-taking. Our kids are not looking for perfect saints. They’re looking for humans who are BRAVE, STRONG, KIND, and HONEST.
And guess who else is brave, strong, kind, and honest?
You are, mama. Every day. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.
How Parents Define a Hero (And Why It Matters)
Parents in the survey defined a “hero” as someone who:
- Goes out of their way to help others (58%)
- Puts others before themselves (53%)
- Has a strong moral compass and sticks to it (48%)
Look at those definitions. They’re describing motherhood. Almost word for word. Going out of your way. Putting others first. Sticking to a moral compass even when nobody’s watching.
Mama, if you’ve ever wondered whether the invisible sacrifices count — this is your answer. They count. Loudly.
The Stat That Made Me Cry
Buried in the survey is this line:
70% of who parents turned out to be as adults stemmed from the habits and teachings of their childhood hero.
And:
72% of the values parents teach their own kids come from their childhood hero.
Read those numbers again. The hero you looked up to as a 6-year-old is STILL shaping how you parent today. Which means the choices you’re making at the kitchen counter, the bedtime routines, the way you handle hard conversations, the way you show up when your kid is having a tough day — you are literally shaping their entire adult self.
You’re their hero. And you’re building their next generation of heroes at the same time.
Joy Turner, chief academic officer at Kiddie Academy, said it beautifully in the survey announcement: “Though they may change over time, it’s no secret that childhood heroes have an impact on people long after they’ve left the classroom.”
The Traits Kids Are Actually Showing (Per Their Parents)
Here’s the part that will make you look at your own kids differently today.
When parents were asked which “heroic” qualities they see in their OWN children, the top answers were:
- Kindness (37%)
- Honesty (30%)
- Intelligence (27%)
- Positivity (27%)
- Compassion (27%)
Kindness at the top of the list, mama. Your kid is likely displaying heroic-level kindness right now — and you might be so buried in the day-to-day that you don’t always see it.
Go look at your kid today. Really look. Notice the moments of kindness. The gentle way she holds her little sister’s hand. The way he shares his snack. The random act of picking up something off the floor without being asked. The friend they include on the playground.
Those are hero moments in the making.
How We’re Actively Building Heroes at Home
The survey found that parents are intentionally cultivating these heroic qualities by:
- Teaching kids to express themselves in healthy ways (57%)
- Letting them explore their own interests (55%)
- Practicing patience in stressful situations (52%)
- Setting healthy boundaries (51%)
- Showing kindness to strangers (50%)
- Teaching them to follow their dreams (50%)
Every single one of these is a small daily practice. Not a grand gesture. Not an expensive program. Not a big vacation. Just the constant, quiet, patient work of modeling what “brave, kind, honest, and strong” looks like — in real time, in your real life.
That’s the work. And you’re already doing it, whether you realize it or not.
A Quick Reframe From My IIN Days
When I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2019, one of the lessons that stayed with me is the concept of “primary food” — the parts of your life that nourish you beyond what’s on your plate. Relationships. Meaning. Purpose. Presence.
You are your kid’s primary food, mama. Not the healthy snacks in their lunchbox. Not the enriching activities you sign them up for. YOU. Your attention. Your patience. Your presence. Your example.
And that’s true whether you have a 4-year-old obsessed with Bluey, an 8-year-old dressed as Spider-Man for the 30th day in a row, a tween who somehow knows every KPop Demon Hunters lyric, or a teenager who’s quietly watching you more than they let on.
You are the most influential hero in their story.
What This Looks Like Across My Two Sets of Kids
If you’ve been reading along on Orlando Mom, you know I’m running both ends of the parenting spectrum — Gen Z kids on one side, Gen Alpha kids on the other. And this survey has me thinking about who each of them looks up to right now.
My little ones? Bluey. Their older siblings. Us. Their teachers. A rotating cast of cartoon characters, superheroes, and whichever athlete they saw play last weekend.
My older ones? Different heroes now. Some real, some famous, some in industries they’re just discovering. And underneath all of it? Still me. Still their dad. Still their grandparents. Even when they don’t say it out loud (because who does at 20-something?), the survey backs it up: 56% of parents said their childhood hero influenced their career path.
The hero my older Gen Z kids picked at age 6 is still working in their bones today. That’s the power of who we let into their orbit early.
A Final Word From One Hero-Mom to Another
The 82% of kids in this survey who said they want to be considered a hero someday? They already are, mama. Because they have YOU in their corner every single day, showing them what brave, strong, kind, and honest look like in real life.
You don’t have to be Wonder Woman. You don’t have to be flawless. You don’t have to have it all together.
You have to be present. Kind. Honest. Brave enough to say “I don’t know” and “let’s figure this out together.” Strong enough to hold your boundaries even when it’s hard. Consistent enough that they know exactly what “mom” looks like — no matter what.
That’s the whole hero curriculum.
You are 71% of your kid’s hero list. Now go pack the lunchbox. 💛
More Reading on Orlando Mom
- 👶 Our Pregnancy + Postpartum Guide
- 🏖️ Our Ultimate Guide to Summer in Central Florida
- 🎒 Our Back to School content — for the moms navigating school-year everything
- 💕 Our Self-Care Reset content — because heroes need rest too
- 🌞 Sun Protection: What You Need to Know — the daily Florida-mom non-negotiable
- 🌴 Our Travel and Vacation content — for the family memories in the making
Research methodology: Talker Research surveyed 2,000 parents of kids ages 4 to 12 with internet access; the survey was commissioned by Kiddie Academy and conducted online between May 21 and May 28, 2026.
