Children are being exposed to more and more negative influences each year. The world I grew up in is much different than the world that my children are growing up in. It can be scary to think of all of the negative influences that are out there. However, as parents how do we protect our children from these influences? Where do we draw the line? And is there a danger from sheltering our children too much?
These questions must be answered individually for you and your family. It is important to realize that your children do need the opportunities to face difficult times, and to face negative influences, before they move away from home. By facing negative influences while they are living at home, you will have the opportunity to guide your children through these difficult choices, and point out right from wrong. Additionally it is possible to be too controlling of everything your child does.
My daughter came home from school a few weeks ago, and told me about a girl who explained to her friends not to take the Lord’s name in vain. I don’t know that we had ever talked about it, since it has been a non-issue up to this point. I was impressed with the integrity of this student, who is of another faith. I took the chance to talk to my daughter about this girl’s courage and her quiet example.
However, there are times when you will need to draw the line. You cannot shelter your children from everything, but that does not mean that you should expose them to everything either. You can have set rules about where they hang out, curfews and possibly pull them out of school if you need to. I know mothers who have pulled their children out, because they were getting involved with the wrong crowd at school. When the children started public school a year or two later, they made different friends.
Ultimately it is important to realize that as a parent you are the greatest influence for good or evil on your child. Every action that you make, every word that you say, every movie or television show that you watch will affect your children, and their sense of right and wrong. It is important that your children see you stand up against negative influences. It is important that your children see you avoid situations that may lead to temptation. It is important that you talk to your children about these situations as well. You will make the biggest difference.
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