He’s Your Problem Between 8 and 4

I recently overheard a conversation that was going on regarding parenting and the challenges of raising teenage boys, a subject that is near and dear to my heart since John and I have raised four boys.  I wasn’t eaves dropping.  I happened to be part of a group of moms sitting on the bleachers at a rec league baseball game. Exasperation filled the tone of the conversation as several moms were totally frustrated with the attitudes of their teenage sons.  One parent revealed her feelings about her local school’s role in her son’s life when she stated what she recently told her son’s teachers……“He’s your problem between 8 and 4.”

Whoa!

Now, I am not here to be a “militant” homeschooler that says everyone and everybody should be home educating their children.  I don’t feel that way and that’s not the point.  The point is….when I have a child…when you have a child…it is our responsibility to raise that child.

This is an interesting topic in a day and age when the government is considering telling us how much soda we can drink and regulating how much fast food we can order.  It’s an interesting topic when I’m continually having to alert parents to the dangers of the UN’s Rights of the Child bill that keeps rearing its ugly head and that will affect our rights as parents to raise our own children.

Whether you are a home educator, send your kids to public school or have them enrolled in a private school, the bottom line the responsibility of raising YOUR children, is YOURS!  That’s why it is important to be involved in that process, to know what’s going on, to have a hands-on mentality when it comes to child rearing and education.

It’s not the government’s responsibility to help my child decide what to eat and drink. I should be educating them with that info in the home and while they are young, I should be overseeing that area of their lives.

It’s not even the responsibility of a school to make sure that my child is getting everything they need to become all that God has planned for them to be.  That’s MY responsibility.  If I don’t like what they are getting, then I should step in, speak up and most importantly make a difference.

It’s not even the church’s responsibility to teach them everything they need to know about God and Biblical truths and principles.  That’s MY responsibility.

Parenting is a hands-on activity.  It is a 24/7 area of responsibility.  To think that I can enroll my child in a program that will perfectly equip and prepare them all on its own without myinvolvement, my support, my follow-up and my interaction is ludicrous.  I don’t care if that is a public school, a private school or a homeschool program or a curriculum.  The buck stops here…with me.  I gave birth to that child and with that comes a level or responsibility that I will carry with me for a lifetime.

What an opportunity to make a difference!  What a privilege to have that role in my child’s life!  I don’t want to give that up to anyone, anywhere, at any time.