Children are Children

I had this thought randomly this morning, which means I think I should share it because things aren't really as random as we think.

I attended a fairly large church in my hometown with a strong youth presence. We were always doing something as a group most days of the week and often went to camps and retreats.

One of the retreats the church put on for us we were allowed to watch the movie Psycho. I have never seen the whole movie, even today, I don't care for that genre. About a week later, if that long, there was a rumor about a girl who's parents had pulled their whole family out of the church because chaperones allowed us to view a bad movie. It was the family's right to do just that. But here is what happened that should not have, the girl and her family were talked about, considered weird, her parents, mean. This is a small town, so it wasn't just in the church that she was teased, ignored or looked down upon, it was school, other organizations she was a part of, it was in the grocery store and so on. Was it Christian, no, was it right, no, was it childish, yes, was it a normal reaction, unfortunately.

I am not a parent, by choice, so I can not give parental advice. However, I am human and I can give human musings.

TEACH your children that children are children. They are not their parents, they are not the clothes they wear or the movies they are allowed or not allowed to watch. They are not the cash or free-lunch line they get into at school. They are not the disability they may have or the vehicle in which they arrive. They are not the friends they hang around or the grades they make. All of these things and so much more will make up who the child becomes on a daily basis, but that child is not finished growing until they are gone. Teach your children to be accepting of other's differences. Be curious about the things they do not know about other people, research and learn. Show kindness when someone is having a bad day or life. Show love when confronted with hate. Even as adults we have to work on all of the above. As we are working on it, let's be the example.

Raise compassionate humans with a backbone. It is a fine line but as humans, we are all capable of doing more than we could ever imagine.