Values In The Home

As I listen to or read the news or listen to the things being told to my children and myself in the schools, I get the feeling that society expects the schools and government to take on the role of a parent. They can give away free condoms, feed your kids breakfast and lunch and plant their minds with values that are "acceptable" (at least to the N.E.A.). PARDON ME?!? I feel this institutional attempt to take away a parent's authority is a major reason for schools and kids in general, being in such a big mess. Schools should concentrate on teaching the three R's again and leave the area of teaching VALUES to us, as parents. And we, as parents, need to teach and live the values that we teach.

Values should be taught in the home as a basic part of life, beginning at birth.

In the home a child picks up what's right and wrong by watching mom and dad, brothers and sisters and interacting with them. This should be done with consistent love and discipline. By attending church together, the things taught in the home are reinforced. It helps to see those things then learned, practiced in the home. If these basics of living aren't taught at a very young age and then reinforced with every day living, when friends try to influence our kids to do something like steal, cheat on a test, take drugs etc., they won't have that cornerstone of values to lean on. How much better will those values such as, honesty, virtue, integrity, faith and service be learned if taught and shown while young, by parents that they know loves them, and have a one to one relationship with.

At this Christmas time I would hope that we, as parents, make a resolve to teach our children so that they are better prepared for life. We are the ones who can affect our children most, if we will but take the time do so. Our children need us, they need to know that we love them and care enough to teach them the good things, the right things, for life.