Raising Children

Another topic of conversation at that same picnic (see the July 19th post) dealt with the challenges of raising children. One mother commented that as a baby her boy was so easy but then as a child he had become so difficult. Another said to just wait until they were teens and that they would switch again. I am not a parent, but most of my career has involved working with teens and pre-teens. It is a scary time for parents. This is an idea that might help them influence the direction of the switching.

"In uncertain and difficult times, faith is truly a spiritual gift worthy of our utmost efforts. We can give our children education, lessons, athletics, the arts, and material possessions, but if we do not give them faith in Christ, we have given little....When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God’s commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things." Elder Pearson

Please don't misunderstand. I don't consider myself at all perfect in this. But we do need to hold on to and keep striving for the ideal.

(The views written in this post are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)