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Shepherd Of Souls - Who Is Raising Our Children?
So here we are on the cusp of the Christmas holiday, snow is falling outside my window right now and it is really putting me in the mood. So I was reading the news feeds to see what is going on in the world and I come across this headline, “Boy, 13, accused in killing and burning of half brother, 16” Now I stress the fact that the boy is only accused in this case and has not been convicted yet. But I have to ask the question, who is raising our children?
Last night during an adult religious education program that I run here at the church, we were discussing evangelism and what the church can do for people. One of the topics discussed was children and the how we keep children in the church and the influence on them that the church might have. Now I am not naive enough to say that if children stay in the church all will be well but I submit that maybe, just maybe if kids stay in church we would not have headlines like this one.
This incident took place as part of a robbery of $10,000 in alleged drug money. The body of the 16 year old was found in the woods shot, stabbed and burned and the 13 year old brother is accused of supplying a weapon to an adult who allegedly committed the murder. The dead brother was described as a “significant drug dealer” who was robbed of the $10,000 in cash. The money was later used by one of the adults accused in the case to buy a BMW the next day.
Okay so now comes the question time. Question 1, where did a 13 year old get a weapon? How was this child able to buy, or some how come into the possession of the hand gun? Question 2, where does a 16 year old get $10,000 in cash? Part 2 of that question would be why was he walking around with all of that cash? Question 3, and this is the big one, where were the parents? What is going on in this family, or these families, that these kids have the ability to do all of this stuff unnoticed by an adult? The boy was killed in the home of one of the accused and rolled up in a carpet and dumped in the woods behind the house. Did the parents not notice the missing carpet?
We seem to be loosing control of this generation! I know that some who read this will write that I should not blame the parents of these kids, after all they work hard and there are a lot of things that need to be kept track of. Well you over looked something parents, you over looked your children. I do not have children and I will be the first to admit that being a parent today is one of the hardest jobs out there, but you have a responsibility to raise and supervise your children and if you cannot do the job then do not have children. If you cannot do the job and need help, ask for it help exists and all you need to do is to ask for it.
Be involved in your children’s lives, know who their friends are, monitor their activity on the internet and above all talk to them! This generation is known as the wired generation and they have all the gadgets and gizmos out there. Ask yourself this question, where is the computer in the house? Is it in a place that can be monitored, do you check the sites that your children are visiting, do you even know how to do that?
All I ask is that you participate in the raising of your children because if you don’t them someone else will and you might not have a choice of who that person is.
Published: Dec 21,2008 18:55
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Andy Cowan
Andy Cowan, an award-winning writer, whose credits include Cheers and Seinfeld, regularly contributes humor pieces to the Los Angeles Times and the CBS Jack FM Radio Network.
Paul M. J. Suchecki
Paul M. J. Suchecki has more than 30 years of experience as an award winning writer, producer, and cameraman. He's written numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Currently he writes, produces and shoots for LA CityView Channel 35 and his more than 250 articles for Ehow.com are approaching half a million readers.
Coby Kindles
Coby Kindles is a freelance journalist, screenplay writer and essayist. She has been a staff writer at Knight Ridder and a regular contributor to The Associated Press.
Debbie Milam
Debbie Milam is a syndicated columnist for United Press International, an occupational therapist, family success consultant, and motivational speaker with more than 20 years experience. Her work on stress management, spirituality, parenting, and special-needs children has been featured in over 300 media outlets including First for Women, The Miami Herald, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, The Hallmark Channel, PBS and WebMD.
Dan Rafter
Dan Rafter has covered the residential real estate industry for more than 15 years. He has contributed real estate stories to the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Business 2.0 Magazine, Home Magazine, Smart HomeOwner Magazine and many others.
Jack Nargundkar
Jack Nargundkar has been repeatedly published in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. He is also an author of "The Bush Diaries" published in July 2005.
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