BLOG 12, Jan 27 - THEME: Youth and Parenting

Young people today grow up in American and Canadian households with a huge sense of entitlement. When they leave home and graduate they ask themselves, "Hey, where's my job with a big starting salary, my new car, my TV, my new computer with high speeds, my iPad, my new cell phone, my house?” Some of them forget that preceding generations made huge sacrifices to have a more comfortable lifestyle at some FUTURE time (some even walked 10 miles to school in the bitter cold, uphill each way). 

Parents must share some of the blame. They are afraid of their children. If they fear losing the child, the temptation is to be popular and give the child everything. If they are parents of teens they forget about tough love; they fear setting limits. Perhaps they say, "Let the schools do that; but don't you dare give them harsh discipline!" The reality is that teachers are afraid of school boards who are afraid of parents who are afraid of students living at home who are afraid of no one.  

We surround ourselves, and our children with comforts. Almost every child has a cell phone with, "unlimited texting” (we ought to lobby the cell phone companies to charge huge monthly fees for texting and lower the fees for phone calls).  

Many Canadians have more money in insurance and lottery tickets than in a savings account or an education fund. They max out credit cards and pay huge interest fees on the overdue balances. 

As responsible parents we MUST:  

• Foster trust and mutual respect.  
• Discipline our children in concert with the schools.  
• Stop being afraid of our children.  
• Love them; teach them values, goal setting and empathy for all humanity by setting examples in the home environment.  
• Give them the freedom to make choices that won’t destroy them.  
• Forgive them, but hold them accountable for their bad choices.  
• Teach them to protest only what they understand and believe.  
• Encourage young girls and boys to be strong and self-reliant by being good role models.  

We all need the WISDOM AND FORESIGHT to see, the FAITH to believe in what we see, and the COURAGE TO ACT.