Children learn by example. They’re always learning, not just in school, but in the home. As a parent, you teach by example. Your actions provide your child/children with guidelines for their future relationships. What kind of example are you providing for your children?
Have you taught them that it’s okay for daddies to hit mommies or mommies to hit daddies? Have you taught them that lying is okay? Have you taught them that stealing is okay? Have you taught them that getting high on drugs is okay?
Have you taught them that getting drunk every day is okay? Have you taught them that driving while drunk or otherwise impaired is okay?
Have you taught them that having sex with someone other than the person you married is okay? Have you taught them that it’s okay to leave a marriage when you meet someone you’d rather be married to?
Have you taught them that it’s easier to end a marriage when things go wrong than to stay and try to work things out? Have you taught them that love doesn’t last forever and once it’s gone, so are you? Have you taught them that they mean nothing to you because your new family is more important?
What your children learn from other sources might surprise you. When was the last time you visited your child’s MySpace site? MySpace is incredibly popular with school age children. The sexual content and innuendo on many of the sites is unbelievable considering the ages of most members of the site.
Are you aware of what your children are watching on MTV? What they’re learning in today’s music videos and video games? There’s nothing innocent about the videos children are watching. The song lyrics are raw, the images are blatantly sexual or brutally violent. Video games are graphic in their violence and sexual content falls somewhere between soft porn and hardcore sex. What are today’s kids are learning by example?
When was the last time you talked to your child about sex? If a child is old enough to have a MySpace site or old enough to watch MTV, they’re old enough for a discussion about sex. Do you know that most teenagers don’t consider oral or anal sex to “really be sex”? Do you know that many young teen girls are having routine and casual oral and anal sex?
What will future generations learn? Each generation teaches the next. What your parents taught you, you pass down to your children. They, in turn, pass down your teachings to their children. What type of future do you see for your children’s children?