Raising entitled BRATS!

So, I was at the Apple store the other day when a mother came in with her son. He was not a day older than 12 . She told the associate there that she had to buy him a new iPod Touch because he wanted a camera and the one he had didn’t have one and now he kicked it so its broken and he needs a new one. Of course my jaw dropped! But that’s not the worst part of the story. They give him a new one and he wants to set a password on it. His mother looks over his shoulder and he covers his screen and says MOOOOOMMMMMM! She smiled, embarrassed and said “well, I just want to know what your password is”… he looked at her and said “No, it’s private!”, she smiled again at the associate and said “it’s ok it’s not like you aren’t going to change it when I am not looking either way!”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This is what is wrong with parents today! Grow a backbone for a change. Private? Kids that need “privacy”? WHAT? That doesn’t even compute in my world. If you want privacy, you get your own place, pay for your own food along with all your bills and THEN you can have all the privacy you want. Meanwhile you live in my house, eat my food and depend on ME to pay your bills, I will know all your passwords, all the music you listen to…what’s on your PSP…you will have no cable in your room (we don’t have cable in our house either way)…you get the point. My 9-year-old has Netflix in his room. I go on the computer to check the history on the account of everything watched. We put things he is allowed to watch on the Instant Queue, he isn’t allowed to watch anything else. I have monitored his history and I am not surprised to find his integrity stands. His PSP is locked so the internet is not accessible. There are no entitlements issues in our home, because they are taught from the time they are young to be grateful for what they have, to work hard to contribute to the family….we don’t hand things to our children without some work for it. Exp; if Franky wants to buy a new video game that we have approved of, he has the opportunity to earn money in order to buy it. We have the choice to pitch in or just pay for the rest (sometimes we just buy them for him is he is doing great at school, etc). But the value of things is def. taught. Things don’t get handed to you. That is what parents today don’t get. When I refer to parents, I am speaking to you professing Christians. Your kids are acting just like unbelievers kids do. Entitled, gotta have the latest fashion, the latest gadget…etc. You reason “oh they are really good kids!”, sooo? Do you not train “really good kids” the value of a dollar and hard work? My goodness what a rude awakening for them, you are just setting them up for failure. When the world gets to be too much, too demanding, etc…they get overwhelmed, depressed and suicidal!

Our kids refer to us as Ma’am and Sir when they are given instructions or correction. Respect for authority is a must since they are little. My son (9) to date tried to talk back to me once and that was the last time. I asked him to clean his room, he replied…”ohhh I am going to do that later”…I looked at him and said “boy you have lost your mind and you better find it!” to which he replied as quickly as he could “I am sorry Ma’am.” Now our kids call us mom & dad, NOT when they are given specific directions or correction/discipline.

Too many parents have a bargaining relationship with their children. Everything they say is up for discussion. When I ask one of my kids to do something, it is not up for discussion, we don’t need to have a pow wow about everything he/she feels like saying about what I just asked. It gets done when I asked for it to get done. If you have any questions we can talk about it when the task is done. I can go anywhere with my son and if he sees another kid disrespecting his parents or behaving inappropriately he opens his eyes really wide and says “they are out of their minds!” Why? Because we have taught them there is a standard. My son will not dare to say anything disrespectful, first and foremost because he knows who God is and what He requires. Secondly, he knows it is absolutely unacceptable. Children do not have the fear of the Lord in them and thus trample on their parents as a consequence. Every time franky has gotten in trouble (exp. direct disobedience), he is first and foremost taken to the word to deal with his offense against God first and then his offense to others. If we simply tell them they have to respect us because we said so or…they will go off to college one day and nothing was instilled in their hearts concerning the holiness of the God they serve and the why behind what we are called to do.

We must teach our children to fear God, so that when they do go off to college they understand it is not us they are ultimately accountable to but a HOLY God. It’s not because mom and dad said so, but it is because GOD said so.

Children can’t raise themselves, look around, it is EVIDENT. You let TV raise them, you don’t monitor their gadgets, friends, FB account and you just handed them over to all kinds of temptation. See dear friends, it is not that your children are not good kids, they may be good christian kids but what we fail to understand is that they WILL be tempted just like anyone else. If a parent isn’t there to guide them through those times, to correct sinful behavior before it takes root into pornography addiction, alcohol addiction or just plain lack of discernment. As parents we are to protect and guide our children into age appropriate things. We can’t let a 16 year old surf the net without supervision. Not because they are going to do something wrong, but because garbage is EVERYWHERE even when they aren’t looking for it. Temptation comes knocking, they can fail as sinful human beings and it turns into bondage they simply aren’t equipped to handle properly.

It is so very sad to see the state of christian homes, no wonder our kids (95% of evangelicals according to George Barna) are walking away from the faith by the time they are 20! If you have little ones in your home, i encourage you to set healthy boundaries with them. The rest of their lives depend on the way they were raised. So if your children end up with years of counseling as an adult chances are you really messed that one up! Parenting is about being pro active. Involved in your child’s life and leading them by example right into the arms of the Savior. Teach them to fear (REVERE) God, it is the best thing they will ever LEARN!

I plead with you to please watch your children diligently, guide them in the path of righteousness, lead them by example into integrity and honor…build character in them by guarding them from the harsh world to allow them to mature enough until’ they are ready to fight the battle on their own.