Who doesn't love Denzel Washington? Seriously, they guy is good-looking, talented, and seems to have a pretty good handle on this whole business of raising kids. Married to his wife Pauletta since 1983, the 53-year-old actor is the father of four children ranging in age from 16 to 23. If you don't know their names -John David, Katia, Olivia and Malcolm - it's probably due to the fact that they've never been involved in any celebrity-kid craziness.

Denzel strikes me as a tough dad who takes his parenting job seriously. Yesterday, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, he talked to the Early Show about overcoming barriers and not letting them change you. "I try to teach my children there are going to be obstacles," he says. "Someone may not like you just because they don't like themselves. But, don't you get bogged down."

Like him, I think one of the most important things we can pass on to our kids is an awareness of, and the tools for dealing with, the imperfect world in which we live. For me, that means teaching Ellie to have an open mind and an acceptance of others and their differences. In Denzels' words: "don't be a hater."