Christmas is the best time to spend with families, getting know one another more and encourage each other to keep going and growing in beneficial directions.
Which leads me to a story I read on Christmas about a single mom who was so frustrated with her 14 year old son's addiction to video games, specifically Grand Theft Auto, that in the middle of the night she finally called the police to get him away from it.
What is wrong with this picture? Well for starters since when did minors get equal rights in their parents homes? America's laws enforce a parents legal responsibility for the welfare of the child. And a boy who can't go to sleep because of his computer addiction is heading towards crisis.
The double jeopardy is that the particular game Grand Theft Auto, is based on illegal activity including theft, mass murder, prostitution and rape. Mom's first mistake was allowing her minor son unlimited access to a computer, regardless how he got it. The second is allowing him to keep any material deemed threatening in her home regardless if it's in his room. It should have hit the garbage can on Day 1.
Most likely Mom called the police because her son's behavior was now threatening her. When our children feed on violence, we can't be surprised when they act that violence out.
Recently I read a documentation on two girls from India raised by wolves, who walked and ran on all fours, ate, drank and snarled as wolves. Their entire behavior had become wolf-like since they were the only role models these children had. It took years to adapt to the most basic human social skills on the lowest level, up to their time of death. http://www.feralchildren.com/en/pager.php?df=singh
The point in this social phenomena is that children learn the necessary behavioral skills early which sets them for life. And whatever they are exposed to for long periods, is what determines their patterns for growth.
If parents keep their heads in the sand refusing to see evil for what it is, because they themselves are conditioned to trust the entertainment and marketing industries; they willfully set their families up for a lifetime of pain, dysfunction and possible jail time, destroying the future benefits of a healthy and safe family life with their children and grandchildren.
We are what we eat! The Bible says "Train a child in the way he should go and he'll never depart from it". American parents may have become unwilling accomplices to the criminal behaviors of their own children because they're too afraid to do the right thing even though it may be hard at the time.
It's every parents responsibility to make sure our children are safe even if it means searching their rooms, begin this when they are very young. If something worries you, most likely there is a reason. Discuss things with your child, be understanding. Let them know your concern and why you need to take it away. Always tell them you love them, and your goal is to protect them. If the items are questionable, remove it but get advice from other parents who have well adjusted children.
Support groups for parents are always good, and the best places to find these are at a local church with childrens programs where they can learn how to value others together.
There are many predators in the world today, and in many forms. Parents need to be as diligent as hens surrounded by a world of wolfs. Don't allow the big bad wolf into your homes, even when he comes pretending to be as innocent as Grandma.
Have a bright New Year to you and yours!
Olga Hermann
Which leads me to a story I read on Christmas about a single mom who was so frustrated with her 14 year old son's addiction to video games, specifically Grand Theft Auto, that in the middle of the night she finally called the police to get him away from it.
What is wrong with this picture? Well for starters since when did minors get equal rights in their parents homes? America's laws enforce a parents legal responsibility for the welfare of the child. And a boy who can't go to sleep because of his computer addiction is heading towards crisis.
The double jeopardy is that the particular game Grand Theft Auto, is based on illegal activity including theft, mass murder, prostitution and rape. Mom's first mistake was allowing her minor son unlimited access to a computer, regardless how he got it. The second is allowing him to keep any material deemed threatening in her home regardless if it's in his room. It should have hit the garbage can on Day 1.
Most likely Mom called the police because her son's behavior was now threatening her. When our children feed on violence, we can't be surprised when they act that violence out.
Recently I read a documentation on two girls from India raised by wolves, who walked and ran on all fours, ate, drank and snarled as wolves. Their entire behavior had become wolf-like since they were the only role models these children had. It took years to adapt to the most basic human social skills on the lowest level, up to their time of death. http://www.feralchildren.com/en/pager.php?df=singh
The point in this social phenomena is that children learn the necessary behavioral skills early which sets them for life. And whatever they are exposed to for long periods, is what determines their patterns for growth.
If parents keep their heads in the sand refusing to see evil for what it is, because they themselves are conditioned to trust the entertainment and marketing industries; they willfully set their families up for a lifetime of pain, dysfunction and possible jail time, destroying the future benefits of a healthy and safe family life with their children and grandchildren.
We are what we eat! The Bible says "Train a child in the way he should go and he'll never depart from it". American parents may have become unwilling accomplices to the criminal behaviors of their own children because they're too afraid to do the right thing even though it may be hard at the time.
It's every parents responsibility to make sure our children are safe even if it means searching their rooms, begin this when they are very young. If something worries you, most likely there is a reason. Discuss things with your child, be understanding. Let them know your concern and why you need to take it away. Always tell them you love them, and your goal is to protect them. If the items are questionable, remove it but get advice from other parents who have well adjusted children.
Support groups for parents are always good, and the best places to find these are at a local church with childrens programs where they can learn how to value others together.
There are many predators in the world today, and in many forms. Parents need to be as diligent as hens surrounded by a world of wolfs. Don't allow the big bad wolf into your homes, even when he comes pretending to be as innocent as Grandma.
Have a bright New Year to you and yours!
Olga Hermann
