“WHOSE children are they?” “Didn’t their parents teach them good manners?” “What are their parents doing?” All these, and more questions when children make terrible mistakes and show undesirable behavior. We can’t blame people for asking such questions. After all, the family is expected to mold the members’ character and teach them the right values.
Tough job, isn’t it? Various forces influence children’s attitudes and choices, especially outside the home and when they are online. I can’t imagine the burden on parents, particularly those who never fail to remind their children of guidelines… parents who model good behavior. I can’t imagine their anguish when in spite of everything they have done, the children still lose their way.
“Home is the place where boys and girls first learn how to limit their wishes, abide by the rules, and consider the rights and needs of others” (Sidonie Gruenberg). What happens when families disintegrate? How can proper values and good principles be taught? Who will model them? Who is in charge?
It’s hard enough for well-meaning and ever-present parents to develop the right values and principles in their children. How much more for one or both parents who are absent most of the time? And then we wonder why today’s kids behave and think the way they do – why they become pleasure-loving and materialistic, why they can’t get over a break up, why their peers can wield so much influence over them, and why many of them get involved in undesirable and harmful activities.
What must families and individuals who intend to raise families do – and why?
Mother Teresa once said, “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family”. Agree or disagree?
(Marilyn Arayata: E-mail [email protected]. Like the Hope Boosters page for posts that inspire and equip!)