�Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." President George Washington
One of my favorite parts about leading the Cherub Choir�3, 4 and 5 year-olds�at church is that it gives me the privilege of presenting Biblical messages in their simplest form. What with these kids being barely able to sit still for more than one verse at a time, everything in our short practice period is reduced to the lowest possible denominator. Snack-time is reduced to one Starburst candy upon arrival (to wake up their singing mouths); story-time is reduced to �does anyone have an emergency they need to share before we get started?� (to which: �Today is my bunny�s birthday.� �Oh, really? And what�s your bunny�s name?� �Bunny.� �Oh, perfect.� was Sunday�s �emergency drill�); and singing-time is reduced to learning and singing life�s most profound wisdom distilled into a couple of lines. �O, be careful, little eyes what you see� is not only a hit with the little tykes set; it should be printed on an index card and carried in every teen�s wallet. I�ve read that messages with sexual content are viewed anywhere from four to six hundred times a day on TV alone. �This little light of mine, I�m gonna let it shine� is a quintessential theme of living to your fullest potentiality. And �I�ve Got the Joy Joy Joy Joy Down in my Heart� is a message of hope for everyone!
Sometimes, when life gets too complicated, it�s comforting to realize that a few resounding themes offer sustenance. That they provide food for our spirits.
Most of the wisdom which has stood the test of time�and has crossed cultural, ethnic and religious lines�is accepted by almost everyone as just that: timeless wisdom. Time-honored truths which are self-evident. You don�t have to attend my church�or put your kids into my little choir�or be a citizen of my country or live in my generation to appreciate them as such. Being honest has always been a virtue. As has being pure in heart. Not stealing. Nor committing murder. Or adultery.
It�s especially now�with rampant over-sexualization by our culture practically smacking our kids in their collective faces; lack of commitment to ideals and values, to spouses and friends; political corruptness; and materialism overcoming rationalism�that reinforces the notion that instilling moral excellence into our children is arguably one of our biggest jobs as parents! And it has never been a more urgent responsibility!
At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, today�s kids face issues of monumental importance. That kids of previous generations never even had to think about. It�s one thing to be worried about another September 11; and that fear is very real and very relevant to all of us living in the greater New York City metropolitan area. It�s quite another to realize that half of all sexually active teens suffer from STD�s�and that the majority of teens are sexually active. Or that one in five teen girls suffers from an eating disorder. Or that even the sweetest girl can find herself in intensive care for alcohol poisoning.
It�s not just the same old �drugs-sex-and-alcohol� drumbeat that parents have been sounding for generations. The cultural gap has never been wider. Generation gap? To be sure. But changes in the way we view cultural norms have never been more pronounced; this generation faces the reality of witnessing�firsthand�the total collapse of morality. And I�m seeing it with my own eyes.
Flip through any fashion magazine�it doesn�t really matter which one�and study the images running rampant in clothing and cosmetics ads. Sex and sizzle. Over and over again. It�s no wonder that moms of eight-year-old girls�time and time again�ask me how to keep their daughters from dressing like Britney Spears. And now we�re getting parenting advice from Madonna. Oh, please. The same Material Girl who brought us public prancing and dancing in her underwear?
I will uphold with unapologetic fervor my desire to raise morally excellent children. I will always�ALWAYS!�set the highest bar for them. Regardless of what the media or celebrities or culture or New York Times bestsellers or movies or peers deem as OK. That character counts. Always has and always will.
There are some things in parenting that deserve compromise. And some things that don�t. I urge you to instill values into your children that leave zero room for compromise. I believe�very strongly�that our kids� very futures depend on it.
O be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little feet where you trod. Life wisdom distilled into three little lines. For 3, 4 and 5-year-olds. And all of us who know and love them.
Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; homeschooling for ten years provided fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is available on Amazon.com, in bookstores everywhere, or by calling 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via parenting classes and radio and TV interviews. Please visit rocketmom.com rocketmom.com to subscribe to her free ezine and get a weekly shot of inspiration.