On June 18, Father’s Day, for the first time in many years, I took out one of the few surviving photographs of my father and me.

This faded piece of paper magically transported me back in time, to 45 years ago on the shores of Lake Baikal, Siberia.

My father is standing in front of our tent, his arm placed protectively on my shoulder. We are framed by white birch trees, in a forest wild and unexplored, stretching from the dark blue waters of the lake to the vast tundra far to the North.

I was looking at this photo and I thought that maybe my fearlessness, curiosity, love for changing places and interest in new people began exactly there, under these age-old trees and the wing of love and protection of my beloved father.

My dad was a geologist, a research scientist, and a professor at the university. He spent five or six months a year on survey and prospecting expeditions. Each summer, I joined him for a month or more. Every July, we went to a new and distant place in the wilderness of mother Russia.

We came to a place in the forest or the taiga, cleared a camp, put up the tents, found a place for a campfire, collected wood and began our field work. It started for me at age 7. My last trip was the summer I turned 17.

It was the best and wisest education in the world! Every day, I learnt from my father how to speak and listen to local people, solve the many problems he constantly confronted, and how to be responsible for scientific work. Most importantly, I saw how he always remained cheerful, joyful and full of laughter. He had great optimism, and a genuine love for people. For my dad, everyone was interesting and fascinating! He had this incredible gift of easily starting conversations with strangers, and he listened with keen interest to every person. He kept telling me I could learn something new from each individual I met.

My everyday responsibility was to help around the camp. I had to scrub our dishes in icy water with sand, help cook and find wood. My fairytales were life stories told by strangers in the firelight.

Through the sweet haze of wood smoke I heard their soft voices, eyes reflecting the flames, and I dozed to the wind sighing high in the treetops. Late at night, I listened to the sounds of the forest — mysterious, unfathomable and endless.

For my dear readers who have children, please find time for them! Realise that the protection and security your love offers allows them to thrive. Your example lives with them their entire lives.

It resonates within them in a deep and special place, like a well they can draw strength and guidance from. Our lives are so busy, it is often easy to overlook the influence you are having on your children, merely by your presence, by the way you act and react to other people, solve problems, and navigate the basic routines of your day.

You don’t need to sit around the campfire under the stars to set an example. What children want more than anything is your attention and love. Be present with them.

Always remember that how you behave is their map in the wilderness, whether it is in Siberia or beautiful Bermuda.

•Nina London is a certified wellness and weight-management coach. Her mission is to support and inspire mature women to make positive changes in their body and mind. Share your inspirational stories with her here: www.ninalondon.com