Our Children

Old World

Things have really changed! Those of us who have been around for a while can see it. Remember when children would move over when they saw an adult walking on the sidewalk? Back then, children would never use profanity in the presence of an adult. Talking back to a teacher was not even heard of! Children use to fight things out on the playground when angry at each other. Now, guns have taken the place of wrestling and girl cat fights. “Yes ma’am and “yes sir” are now replaced with “yeah”, head bobbing and eyes rolling. If most of us born some years ago even thought of doing such things while growing up, we would live to regret it!

What is This?

Fast forward to 2022. We hear regular stories of violent acts committed by children. These range from school shootings, burglary, drunk driving and killing just to see how it feels to kill. One of the most heinous of these is the murder of their own parents over such things as, not being allowed to have a party. Seeing children on a school bus literally torture an elderly bus monitor until she is brought to tears, is a sign that there is something seriously wrong!

Babies having Babies

There are probably a few reasons why these changes have taken place. Have you noticed that mothers and fathers are becoming increasingly younger? Some of these children are thrown out of the home once their parents learn of their pregnancy. If these young parents have not reached a level of maturity and then you throw in a lack of a moral compass, we then have what many of us call, children having children. So, some of these babies being born are more than likely raising themselves.

Trauma

We have more children without the tools to live responsible, respectable lives. The Foster Care system has an overflowing number of children because of this very thing. So, the children are experiencing things that most adults haven’t even gone through. Consequently, they grow up to be angry, depressed, destitute and sometimes suicidal.

It’s Coming

No matter what your belief is, it’s hard to overlook the prophecy in the passage of scripture Matthew 10:21 which says, “and the brother shall deliver up the brother to death and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents and shall cause them to be put to death.” Even if you do not believe the Bible, you have to agree that these are those days.

Damage Done

Here’s a thought: some of these children who are growing up today will become our doctors, teachers, lawyers, politicians; our future. Again, regardless of what you believe spiritually, the fact that things began to shift after prayer was taken out of our schools cannot be downplayed. Looking back, it is a baffling thing how we are people of a country which was founded on the principles of the Bible sat back and allowed that to happen! Silence is not always golden!

See No Evil?

Our children are in trouble! Have we gotten so use to bad behavior that we have become dull to what’s going on with them? Are we unconcerned as long as it’s not our children? We are all affected by this change in climate where our children are concerned.

Too Far Ahead

Seeing children playing outside these days is so unusual that you almost have to stop and just watch them for a while. Hopscotch, kickball, bike riding, jack stones are now replaced with video games, cell phones and pretending to be a rock star or emulating some other celebrity personality. Some children these days are living little adult lives while still in a child’s body. Since, this is the case, what is there for them to aspire to if they’re already portraying adult-like behavior, doing adult-like things and living adult-like lives?

One Bad Apple

Let’s acknowledge, though, that all of our children are not violent, disrespectful or out of control. There are children who excel in school, have a sense of pride, love their families and grow up to be exceptional well-adjusted adults. It’s important to voice our pride for their accomplishments and reward their good behavior.

Show Up

We can’t go back now, much damage has been done. Something has to be done! Let’s make some noise! Shake some things up! We have to make some changes. We cannot be afraid to correct our children, set boundaries and make time for them. Oh sure, there are other things we can do on a national level to bring about a solution for helping our youth. One thing is sure. If we do nothing, we will continue to generate what may possibly be the most catastrophic future for America!

Copyright Jacquelyn Lott “All Rights Reserved”