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Nightingale









Wednesday, January 18, 2006
ROOTS OF A HEALTHY PERSONALITY

In our class reunion recently, I was surprised to learn that a former classmate stopped sending her kids to regular school because of the unsavory influence that has been lurking in our society. She and her husband believe enrolling them in a home-study program will protect them from these evil forces and it was not going to stunt their personalities at all.

Is there a way…or do we simply close our eyes and cross our fingers?

There is really no single formula that will answer these questions. But there is a way. Figure this out…you take risks.

It is the duty of the parents to keep the child nourished, protected, and educated so that he will grow into a useful individual. The parents keep him sheltered under their wings until such time when he will have generated his own powers to go forth and propel on his own.

It is true that there are evil forces lurking everywhere, but a child has to learn to live with them. He cannot exist in a vacuum. Every child needs an opportunity to experience both pleasant and unpleasant moments, preferably with the pleasant ones predominating.

The child who is pampered or sheltered from unpleasant experiences may have a happy and carefree childhood but he is ill prepared to meet disappointments and frustrations he may face with his parents no longer around to protect him.

All individuals need a reasonable tolerance – to be able to “take it” – without going to pieces in the face of trouble. The child who is over-protected and deprived of opportunities to learn how to cope with unpleasant experiences develops feelings of vulnerability.

Psychiatric clinics are filled with clients who are unable to cope with reality. Many of them are pampered darlings who were never taught to stand on their feet.

Having an opportunity to experience all kinds of emotions and learning to cope with them provide “mental health insurance”. A person who has never encountered any misfortune cannot truly appreciate the position of those who suffer.

So I strongly feel that by exposing them to these unsavory influences will provide them with a range of emotional experiences. This is the ideal way to bring them up.

What are your thoughts about this?
 
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7 Comments:


  • At 1/17/2006 10:33 PM, Blogger Trinity13

    It is so hard not to pamper my son since he is an only child. I hope that when God blesses us with another, that my son will not be so spoiled.

     
  • At 1/17/2006 10:46 PM, Blogger FRIDAY'S CHILD

    By doing so, parents have just shown their true selves. That means they do not have trust in the values they have given their children or maybe shall I say none at all for if the roots are deep and strong, the tree needn't worry about the wind.

     
  • At 1/17/2006 10:51 PM, Blogger Crazy MomCat

    I agree with you totally and it is something I should really watch myself on. I tend to be more of a sheltering type of Mom. I don't rob him of experiences, but also am really careful to send him out into situations that might put him at risk. It's a rough call...

     
  • At 1/18/2006 12:02 AM, Blogger Chrixean

    I have four friends who are homeschooling their kids and they say this is because they want their kids to have a solid foundation of the values that they want to be instilled in them before they send them off into the "real world". I personally don't believe in this because nothing can protect kids from feeling hurt, disappointed or from handling children different backgrounds. One of my friend's kids are now having problems socializing with other kids because she started regular school very late already...

     
  • At 1/18/2006 3:13 AM, Blogger BagOfNothing.com

    you can't hide them from the world forever. kind of reminds me of what Ned Flanders does on the Simpsons.

     
  • At 1/18/2006 3:26 AM, Blogger Rachel

    My neighbor homeschools her kids and you couldn't ask for better kids. They attend church and are around other kids often. One is married with children. Two more are in late teens. They both attend college now. They are like their parents....just great people! I know situations vary of course with all families.

     
  • At 1/18/2006 9:14 AM, Blogger The Mistress of the Dark

    I think kids need to be exposed to the world, plus home schooling can keep them from interacting with kids their age.