I’ve done a lot of thinking about whether I raise my kids according to my faith. It seems like it would be an easy thing to do but the culture keeps telling us that there is a better way. I’ll explain.
I signed my son up for recreational soccer in our town. After about 2 practices the coach calls a meeting of all the parents and tells us that her 8 year old son does not want to play any longer and therefore she does not want to coach the team.
She continues to say that as a professional teacher with a plethora of childhood developmental degrees she “knows” that it’s not right to “force” a child to do something they do not want to do.
I stood there feeling like I had been clobbered as she hurled her degrees at us. How was I going to explain to my son that there will be no soccer this season because the coach is quitting and no other parent stepped up. I knew I would have made a total mess of it having never been an athlete.
Still, I kept thinking DR. Mom is missing 2 very important components in all this – community and commitment. Is it really that bad to explain to our 8 year old that they made a commitment and should abide by it until the end of the season?
It reminded me of an article I read in a parenting magazine once. it said that if your older child is pushing your younger sibling off the slide you should resist stepping in so the younger child learns to defend himself.
Sure, I understand the importance of learning to defend yourself however what are we inadvertently teaching the older child? Are we saying you can be a bully while Mommy watches? Will they grow up thinking that behavior is ok until the smaller kid stands up for himself. This is completely against what jesus taught.
I had always known that Jesus’ message was counter cultural but I hadn’t realized how much until I became a mother. It has invaded every moment of everyday.