Really like what you have to say here.

To me, children wouldn't necessarily choose to follow their parents who do right, they would just follow, without an active "choice," because they knew nothing else.

I'm a nanny, and the best parents I have worked for are the ones who hardly instruct their children. Instead, I witnessed this very interesting shift in the dynamic of the parent-child relationship where the teacher (in this case the parent) becomes the student, and the student (in this case the child) becomes the teacher.
The children may, for example, ask the parent, "is it a good idea for me to reach the shelf on my toes or with a stool?" And the parent would reply something like "whichever works best for you, child" and the child would then proceed to surprise the parent by reaching the shelf on their toes and successfully obtaining the item by using either their sheer height or another tool, such as a cooking spoon.
These types of water (fluid role) relationships are truly inspiring, children are often wiser than we give them credit for, especially when they're given the room to explore and ask questions! They tent to exercise more trust in a parent who is open about making mistakes and admitting to their limited knowledge/experience, vs. a parent who "knows best"..

With that being said, I think that allowing ourselves to view the world through the eyes of our inner child will give us an entirely new and awakening experience. We have the potential to make day-to-day life much more enriching for ourselves by slowing down our thought process, and like you said, @chbartist, through making daily change. It's never too late to start becoming our greatest versions!!(: Thank you for your inspiring post.