An Observation from the Cottage Chick

This observation comes from years of working with children and my own personal experience...

When you do not make your child do something that is for their own good, because they are afraid or nervous (and I am not talking about BIG TIME SCARED...I mean they are "nervous" about what others will say...or how the authority will make them "feel"), you do them a GRAVE DIS-SERVICE by not making them do it. Whether it's a commitment they have made that they no longer want to fulfill....or if they are scared because the new teacher might raise his/her voice.... Real life is about being responsible!

Each day I have to make a choice to go to work, to read my Bible, do drive the speed limit...all good things...but when I would rather make cards instead of work...or read fiction instead of my Bible...or when I am running late, so what is 10 miles over the speed limit... It's called RESPONSIBILITIES!!!!

We need to be teaching children to be responsible. They don't just wake up on the day of their 18th birthday and decide, "I think I will be responsible. I think I will make right choices." NOOOOO!

Children naturally fear the unknown. Goodness, so do we as adults. If we were honest, our imaginations work overtime to cause us unnecessary fear. God does not give us the spirit of fear... He will go with us through every situation. He has filtered everything that is going to come into our lives through His love and He knows exactly what we need.

For example, when I was in the 5th grade, I got placed in Mr. White's classroom. Mr. White was a rather large man and he had a BOOMING voice. Did I want to be in his classroom? NOOOO! I wanted to be in kind Mrs. Varga's classroom with my friends. Did my parents know that I didn't want to be in his classroom -- yes! But they also knew that life wasn't always about taking the easy road and that there was a reason why I was in Mr. White's class...so they made me stay. And you know what? 5th grade did not kill me! (I thought bumping into the hanging skeleton might have scared me to death...but alas, I survived that too!)

I'm sorry to get on this soapbox...but I think more parents need to teach their children to not take the easy road...but to realize in life, there are things that we don't want to do that sometimes we have to do...unless of course, you plan on holding their hands throughout their adulthood so that when they are afraid, they can get out of those responsibilities and not own up to their choices. You can come to their need wearing your "Super Mom" or "Super Dad" shirt complete with a cape, if you so desire.

~ Angie