Here's more from Mark Ellingsen...
Illustration
Here's more from Mark Ellingsen, to illustrate his Political Pulpit theme:
The need to enroll our children in the "very best" (by our definition) programs and schools has its down side. According to one eminent observer of American society, Dennis Frum, commenting on the 1970s as a decade that set the trends for today, we have become quite indulgent of our children, all the while effectively neglecting them. "Quality time" ought not to be marred by discipline. Besides, the child psychologists have taught us that it is bad for a child's self-esteem. And so we relax the discipline, supply all their wants with the very best toys, clothes, and educational opportunities.
According to Frum, "This sort of obsessiveness flows much more from the parent's own ego than from the needs of the child" (How We Got Here, p. 111). The kids' gratitude, or at least their lack of complaints, and the knowledge that you've given them the best, can do a lot for overcoming guilt about the time you haven't spent with them! Such self-indulgent parenting will breed more self-indulgence in the next generation.
Children shortchanged by parental attention or indulged by a parental self-indulgence that does not like to discipline find other ways to amuse themselves. Little wonder that the young do not share our values (or the ones we would like them to have). The media is a very effective teacher. Consider how the media portrays all the wrong values to kids. What can we do? If we all turned off such shows, the media's values would change. The media will always give the public what it wants, if it means higher ratings. It's time American churches stopped acting like victims and did something about it.
The need to enroll our children in the "very best" (by our definition) programs and schools has its down side. According to one eminent observer of American society, Dennis Frum, commenting on the 1970s as a decade that set the trends for today, we have become quite indulgent of our children, all the while effectively neglecting them. "Quality time" ought not to be marred by discipline. Besides, the child psychologists have taught us that it is bad for a child's self-esteem. And so we relax the discipline, supply all their wants with the very best toys, clothes, and educational opportunities.
According to Frum, "This sort of obsessiveness flows much more from the parent's own ego than from the needs of the child" (How We Got Here, p. 111). The kids' gratitude, or at least their lack of complaints, and the knowledge that you've given them the best, can do a lot for overcoming guilt about the time you haven't spent with them! Such self-indulgent parenting will breed more self-indulgence in the next generation.
Children shortchanged by parental attention or indulged by a parental self-indulgence that does not like to discipline find other ways to amuse themselves. Little wonder that the young do not share our values (or the ones we would like them to have). The media is a very effective teacher. Consider how the media portrays all the wrong values to kids. What can we do? If we all turned off such shows, the media's values would change. The media will always give the public what it wants, if it means higher ratings. It's time American churches stopped acting like victims and did something about it.
