by Robert Nichols

Created on: April 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 30, 2007

We live in an age of overwhelming possibilities. In modern medicine we have cured plagues which at one time killed millions. In a technological way we have harnessed the power of the atom, explored the deepest parts of our oceans and examined distant celestial objects. We live in a time where knowledge and education are available to any who have access to a computer.

Yet, for all of our achievements we have failed in perhaps the most important endeavor humans can partake in: raising our children.

Many of us who are of the age where we may be considering starting a family were raised in a similar fashion. We were taught to respect others, treat women with the respect of equals, to say please and thank you. Most of us were punished from time to time, be in the form of a discussion or a smack on the behind. Short of those who have been abused none of us really have cause for complaint. Our parents raised us in a similar fashion to the way they were raised, and with good results.

Today anywhere you go, in North America anyway, you see children swearing, fighting, and even killing each other. What went wrong? We had every advantage of a stable upbringing, why can we not give this to our children?

Our world today is full of stress, be it from work or economical trouble or family problems. This however does not excuse laziness on our part in the job our training our children to productive and successful members of society. The worsening attitudes we see in our children is not only due to the music they listen to or the violent video games they play, no it is due to parental neglect.

In the modern economy most families need to have two incomes just to get by. This leaves very little time for family interaction. This extra work means we rely on others to raise our children. In our world today can you really trust anyone else to do the job right?. Divorce is at an all time high, leaving many children feeling disregarded or of little worth. Think of it this way; who of us ever heard our father say " just you wait till your mother gets home!" But literally millions of children are being raised without fathers. True it is possible to do but not easier Also divorce results in a hopeless or rebellious attitude were children grow up to have little if any respect for law and absolutely no clue what a family is supposed to function like.

It appears then that things are and will continue to get worse. It is up to us to stop this cycle. We all need to do better. We need to ask ourselves, what will affect my family for the better; Do I work that extra shift to make a couple of extra bucks or spend that time learning who my kids are? I chose to marry this person for a reason, could I try a little harder rather than giving up and divorcing?

On the matter of discipline, we have to discipline our children! This in no way means abuse our children. Rather discipline is a part of education. For example many today believe if you spank your child than you are an abusive person. Not true. If you saw your child repeatedly reach for a hot iron would you stop at only telling them No, Of course not because you know a sore behind is better than third degree burns. So which is more abusive, to guide our children or let them learn from serious mistakes? Remember what your parents did for you.

There are hard decisions to be made. Sacrifices on our part will be required. Remember our children did not ask to be born to us, but we have the responsibility to them and to all the future generations to do the best job raising our children we can.

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