What Are Our Children Exposed To?

I am and have always been concened as to what people allow children to be exposed to and at what age certain things should and need to be discussed. Having 5 children at an assortment of ages, I have found that there are no set rules by age but by maturity and other social and relational factors. I tend to be conservative, and probably a little over protective, having seen the negative effects on our youth culture over the years of negative exposures that they either report to me or I find out about.

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In general though, children are our future (to quote a passe phrase) but they are even more so becoming a reflection of us and our past mistakes. The obvious demonstration of this fact is that as a whole, children are more inclined to try drugs, to drink, to commit suicide, to kill or beat-up someone, to act disrespectfully, to quit school, to graduate illiterate, to enjoy the spoils of welfare, to insert the F-word into every breath, to have sex or perform sexual acts, to cut themselves, to pierce themselves, to overeat, to have anorexia or bullemia, to hate mariage, to not get involved politically, to never help someone less fortunate, to be self-centered, to worship money, to watch TV more than they read or communicate, to have a poor self esteem or to actually hate themselves, to constantly quit or lose jobs, to elevate friends over family, to not play sports or work out, to not serve in the military, to cheat, to steal and lie, to not know where they live on a map, to judge according to clothes or appearance, or to call "stupid" anything they don't understand.

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What does it sound like? It sounds a lot like the adults I know. Our children mimic what they see and hear. They call it rebellion. But impersonation is the greatest form of flattery. They tell us they want to be treated like adults because they are acting like the irresponsible adults they see around them. They repeat the sins of their mothers and fathers.

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Hey Western World, wake up! Do we have the passion or desire to see them differently? If so, we need to start emmulating the behavious that we want them to demonstrate. If you want them to enjoy reading, then spend time reading to them. If you want them healthy and concerned for their health, then you should play ball or go for bike rides with them. If you want them to understand the power of prayer, then let them see you praying for them. If you want them to remain sexually pure, then show them what clothes are for and teach them the real differences between the sexes that the classroom won't detail correctly. If you want them to not smoke, discuss the dangers of it and do not smoke yourself. If you want them to be hard working, work hard yourself and tell them why it's important to do so. If you want them to act respectfully, demonstrate it to one another in your speach and actions.

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Now, to the "not-so-western-world," you're not off the hook. How about treating your young girls like they are beautiful? How about letting them be equal to boys? Let them learn. Let your children envision a future where people can learn to get along. Let them see that people really do have a lot of the same concerns everywhere on this little blue bulb in space. How about that each and every one of them is precious and that God truly does love them?

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When I turn on MTV, I see video's where rappers praise shooting cops and where angry teens give the middle finger to all authority and adults in their lives. That's sick. But did you know that there is an Iranian music video that depicts a young man as a suicide bomber driving his explosive vehicle to glory instead of home to his new family. That's sick too.

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I saw a cartoon from Iran on www.memri.org that is for children and is meant to convey the glory of blowing ones-self up for Allah's glory. That's sick. I would say that if it came from a "christian," "hindu," "muslim," or an atheist source. It's just plain sick and validates my previous statement that we teach our children to reflect us. The adults.

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If the people would wake up and start making decisions based upon helping fulfill the potential of every child on the planet, then we would all have a future we could be proud of. If we don't, then what are we hangin' on for? The ride?