Parenthood: Then & Now

     “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6

     I will admit, I don’t necessarily agree with most parenting tactics in today’s world.  It has changed a lot.  It is common for a child not to say “Yes sir” or “Yes ma’am” in the manner that my generation and generations before were brought up to say.  If I had ever responded to my parents with a “Yeah”, I might not have been here today to right this article.  Ok, my parents wouldn’t have been that severe but, many of you can relate to what I am saying.  I witness kids being allowed to speak to adults as if they were on the same level.  They are allowed to address other adults by their first name.  The only way that I could have addressed adults that way was by placing “Mr.” or “Mrs.” In front of it.  Kids are allowed to think that it is acceptable to interrupt conversations, whenever they feel like it, or "demand" things from their parents. 
     I have witnessed parents trying to act more like their child’s buddy than a parent.  Instead of showing a finality in direction, some parents resort to light-hearted jestering.  Many times, I've noticed that while some parents do not have the proper control over their own kids, another adult can quickly get that same child to mind them.  How is a child expected to show respect to that sort of parental authority?  We wonder why there is a lack of good parental skills when we start changing some essential child-raising skills.  

     I’m not saying that an individual is a bad parent because of this.  It’s the collective whole that I am referring to.  I think many parents do it because it’s what everybody else does.  Hmmm.  I guess that I would prefer that my child stands out a little, from the crowd.  It would make me proud knowing that others view my child(ren) as having more courteous mannerisms.  In general, I’d love to see more of these directions taught to the children of today.  It shows that to gain respect you must be willing to give respect.  It also continues to establish the adults as the authority figure. I believe that, while these small things, in themselves, do not seem to be problematic; they can connect to form larger problems.

     Children have their peers.  They talk, respond, and think in a particular way with their peers.  It is the same with adults.  Our behaviorisms are different when responding to our peers than they are with the younger crowd, as it should be.  Again, it establishes a continual growth process.  I won’t understand many things as my grandparents did until, at the very least, I have lived the long, full lives that they have.  Only then can I view the world in a way that is level to how they have seen it, in their last years.

     Being a former teacher, I have witnessed a truth in much research regarding what children really want.  They want a structured, disciplined life.  They long for established rules and consistency in following them.  They long for being giving consequences for doing what is right, and consequences for doing something wrong.  If we aren’t setting these rules and structures for them while they are young, how can we expect them to learn it when we pass the torch over to them?  If they are to fail as adults, we would only have ourselves to blame.  Our kids deserve better than that, don’t you think?

     Do what you know is right, in your heart and in the sight of God, when it comes to the raising of your kiddos.  God’s opinion matters most, not the norm of the crowd.