I have been watching a lot of The Andy Griffith Show recently. Some of the episodes are goofy, but one today kind of struck me. In the show two kids are playing a joke on Goober. They get caught, so Andy decides to play a joke on them. In the end the two kids realize that what they did was wrong and actually came back and apologized to Goober.
This got me thinking about today. We would have made Andy feel awful and more than likely condemned him for making the kids feel bad at playing a joke on another person to make themselves feel good.
We do not want to teach them right from wrong, but somehow they are expected to know this. We do not want to correct them when they hurt others, but instead we want to blame it on something else or make excuses for them such as they are just being kids. This is the result of the liberal attitude of let them be kids without consequences.
I agree that kids should be kids and we should not expect them to be adults, but at the same time they need to be taught boundaries. Kids of all ages will push the limits and the limits keep expanding. I know that if I had treated my parents in some of the same ways my kids treated me, I may not be here today.
We as parents are not our kids friends. We are the example they will be using to have some normality in their lives and will eventually emulate. If you cuss, then expect your kids to cuss. If you use people to get ahead in life, then expect the same out of your kids. If you love money, they too will love money. If you cheat, there is a good chance they too will cheat. I hope you see the pattern. There is no guarantee that they will act like you 100%, but they will definitely pickup some of your traits and more than likely it will be the bad ones.
As a parent, I knew this, but somehow ignored it. Despite my best efforts to completely screw up their lives, they turned out pretty well, Thank you God! My kids are not perfect, my daughter cusses and has a bit of a temper. She is impatient in some situations, is messy, and spends money like it is on fire in her hand and needs to get rid of it as fast as possible before it burns her. She does not think about how much things cost and will buy things with our money that I would never buy. She is however a caring person towards children, she is a hard worker, she does not appear to be afraid of failure, and she loves the Lord. My son wants to be like me, poor kid. He wants to be involved in a lot of activities, he is a smart butt, and can be a pain. He does not push himself and will quit at times when faced with a challenge because he thinks he is going to fail. However, he too loves the Lord and cares for children. He likes to act goofy at times to make people laugh. Despite being a pain to his girlfriend at times, he is very faithful to her. He is a protector, fully aware of his surroundings, and makes sure everyone is safe.
I am not saying we have to beat our kids with sticks, but we have to make sure that they are aware of the boundaries and educate them when they push them to far. We have to make sure that they know right from wrong and I am sorry for all of those out there that think that there is no absolute right or absolute wrong, because there is. It is not what I may think is right or what you think is right, but what God thinks is right. If it were the case of what I or you may think is right, then there would complete anarchy and every law on the books would go away.
Be strong and rely upon the Lord for help in raising your kids. He is there waiting for you, so reach out and then wait.