Moulding Society

The other day I was riding in Lola with my eldest and youngest daughters and the youngest piped up from the back seat words that stunned me for a moment. she said "You know Mom you made us stuck up."  After stating the expected question of 'how'? she went on to tell me how my home-made education had taught them to be unacceptable to the usage of poor English, rudeness, temper tantrums in public and down right disrespect of the feelings of others. I guess they are right, then because I just didn't allow them to fall out on the floor, scream and holler or talk to me in whatever manner they thought they could when they were young.

As a person who had worked in the childcare profession from the age of 17 I had seen so many children embarrass their parents that I refused to have children that would do it to me. I refused to have a child that went in public (especially school) and shame me. When my eldest was a baby my grandmother said, you raise a child for the public. If they behave out there you have done your job. In the past few days I have really began to wonder what the parents of those showing their extreme lack of control in the news lately are thinking about their parental skills.  I know we all want to say , can we blame the parent once a person is an adult? Maybe. If the parent was one of those who gave up their reigns of control in order to follow what someone else decided was the 'right' way to rear your child. Can we blame society? Lately it seems as we are a can do anything I want society and the minute someone does what they want they are damned. I honestly don't know.  I know I just want to say, sometimes 'sorry' just doesn't cut it. Especially if the sorry is only given because of outside pressure. If you are sorry it comes right behind the outburst. Not hours, days or weeks later. My daughters tend to ask me what I think before they write a comment or say something. I thank God for that and hope it continues.

I guess I did make my children a little stuck-up. I didn't follow society's rearing rules. My thing was, this is how our house will be ran. The rules were written by God, interpreted so they could understand and followed consistently and quickly. So far compliments rain on them for their intelligence, compassion, conduct. If I haven't formed America I have at least formed their world.