Progress: Has It Cost Us Our Children?

Seventy five years ago, the majority of our communities in this country were agricultural. Mothers stayed home and raised their children and families practiced their faith. The families were larger, everyone had chores, and discipline was still part of a child’s life. It was not uncommon to have the wisdom of grandparents, as well as parents, in the home. Children knew their limits and responsibilities. They were held accountable for their actions if they misbehaved. Children were part of something bigger than themselves. They had a place where they belonged and their lives had purpose. Everyone contributed to the wellbeing of the family. Children were taught solid work ethics and how to take pride in their work. Playtime came after chores were done. They understood the concept of delayed gratification, working for the common good of the family, and they knew how to work together.

Schools taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. They taught geography, history, and some science. Religion was a part of daily life and they pledged allegiance to the flag and had prayer in school. Values taught in school mirrored the values taught in the home. Children were taught to respect their elders, teachers and people in authority. Communities pulled together during harvest or in a crisis. Critical life lessons were an accepted part of life. “You are not the center of the universe.” “The world does not owe you a living.” “You can have anything you want if you are willing to work for it.” “A man’s word is his bond.” Honor and integrity were accepted virtues. Oh, how far we have come since those days…

Our society today requires two working incomes in most families just to make ends meet. Our children are being raised from the time they are babies by virtual strangers. Day care, pre-school, and formal schooling are the environment in which their values are formed. Single parent households are common with the one parent often working two jobs to support a family. Parents have little say in the curriculum taught to their children in the schools, even when it conflicts with values or beliefs held by the family.

Children spend countless hours on video games filled with violence or fantasy. Television is the medium by which their sense of values is formed. They grow up feeling entitled to material things to the point that they feel abused if they don’t have a cell phone by the age of ten and a car of their own by sixteen. The internet opens the doors to never before known sources of information as well as predators.