Can Your Child be Saved?

You see your teen or young adult child taking a wrong turn or engaging in behaviors that seem self destructive. Your natural instinct as a parent is to protect them, to save them. Your mind screams: NO! NO! NO! Don’t go there! You want to throw yourself between them and the problem or knock some sense into their heads before they go too far. You’ve already ‘been there and done that’ and you already know that these activities will lead at best to a pitfall, and at worse, to a major disaster in your child’s life.

Should you try to save your child? If you’re honest, you already know the answer to that question – a resounding yes. As a parent, it is already woven into every fiber of your being to nurture your children. The wise thing to do is to start the process the day they are born. From the beginning, constantly teach them to the best of your ability about the right way to go, before they reach the hard years. Explain to them why you made certain decisions along the way, or why you discipline them for certain things, or why you won’t let them do some of the things that their friends are doing. Saying ‘because I said so’ might be true enough, but a more detailed explanation would probably be more effective. Also admit to them that you made many mistakes during your life, and let them know that they will also make mistakes. Tell them what you learned from your mistakes. Hopefully over the years, with love and persistent instruction, some good solid common sense will be passed on.

So, will your children mess up? Will they suffer some hurt and pain? Of course, it‘s called life. Your children may think you are a bit over the hill, but you’re not so far gone that you don’t remember being a kid, a pre-teen, a teenager or young adult. You’ve ‘been there and done that’ too. You remember your own parents trying to steer you away from certain things. You also remember that overwhelming urge to go ahead and try some things yourself, despite their objections. Now that you have your own children, they inevitably will sometimes go down that same path. If they have reached the age of young adulthood, they’ll be quick to tell your that they can make decisions for themselves. You can, however, still offer them your advice, and they may heed that advice (or not). But ultimately you’ll have to let go and they will have to find their own way.

Can your children be saved? You may have already made an impact on them, so never stop trying. They may still engage in some self destructive behavior, but hopefully something you’ve taught them or demonstrated to them over the years sunk into their subconscious and will always keep them from going too far. They in turn will pass that wisdom on to their children.

Your determination to save your children is well worth your effort. Any success you have will not only strengthen your family now but also in the future for many generations to come.