Childish Fun 2

We were looking at children and their almost magnetic attraction to danger.

We saw that as the product of their lack of vision guided by their lack of experience.

Or do you not wonder why a child must throw everything they get to their mouth? Why do they judge beauty using their tongue?

Their tongue happens to be their most dependable organ, their connection to their narrow worldview.

But a child will most certainly jump to catch the flame of a candle for its beauty for the same reason and burn their fingers in the process.

It is through those experiences that he learns that fire is hot and dangerous; that beauty can burn.

A wise parent does not hide candles from children. He makes sure that he is around when they are holding that flame so that the danger the child is exposed to is minimised.

Many parents have over the years learnt that their screening of their children from danger makes that danger even more attractive.

The child will therefore hide from his parents when he dabbles in that danger that he interprets as unbridled fun. This will many times result in a disaster.

Guarding feeds a child’s curiosity whereas instructing shows them the dangers in whatever they are being warned against.

Telling your daughter that boys are dangerous draws them there almost instinctively. Telling children that alcohol and tobacco are poison is never a deterrent.

Showing them, most effectively by example, is the best way to guide them to avoid those and many other dangers.

Children catch what we do faster and better than what we teach.

At teenage, most, probably all, children will question everything, including their parents’ wisdom and authority.

That is the point at which our lessons in their earlier years will bear their most fruit.

A ‘do not’ parent will most probably have the child doing everything in their power to do exactly what is forbidden.

A ‘watch me’ parent will have developed a more secure teenager who, though they may question the wisdom of their parents, will most likely be more careful in their rebellion because they have explanations and demonstrations why they were told to avoid things their hormones are crying out to experiment.

That is the point at which their greatest and most dangerous experiments are carried out

They will try drugs and sex and crime and lawlessness.

And that simply because they have no concept of danger or consequences. They have no fear of death as to them it is a simple chapter in their lives. Injury is an adventure since there will be somebody to carry the weight of their recovery

Young people have recently overthrown entrenched dictatorships because they do not fear guns. And nobody can kill all of them even if they tried.

No wonder the dictators flee, and will continue fleeing.

Give them a reason to support you and they will do the same without reservations.

Disappoint them and they will stop at nothing to make you pay.

And they have tools and weapons that other generations never had; information, communication, rapport.

What am I saying?

Let us instruct our children in the ways of God. Let us demonstrate to them that our faith reaps better rewards than any adrenaline rush experimentation promises.

And let us pray for them that they will experience our faith and make it their own very early because then they will be in contact with an eternal vision before any other pull is exerted on their choices.