I would not want to be a kid in today's world. What are we doing to cultivate a emotionally healthy environs for our children?

It's only slander if it isn't true

"It Took Me A While To Realise, But N.A.M. Can Dish It Out -- Just Can't Take It."

i wont home school my kids.
they need to survive out there in the world, which includes social skills, managing conflict and healthy competition.

i can't home school my kids (one is grown but i have another in 5th grade) because i work and i am a single mother. granted i am self-employed and can set my own hours, i can't do both and i've tried.

^this^

OP, I think all my core ideas have been expressed already, except for this one: the utter powerlessness of government to open up a human heart... to reconcile a relationship... to make a house a home... to befriend the friendless... to comfort the sorrowful... to encourage the depressed... to show the worth and value of every individual.

For far too long, too many have said, "Let the Government 'fix' it," just like Obama offered to do last night in his speech. People forget that no amount of government can do any of the things I've listed above. About the only government can do is enslave. (And slavery comes in many forms.)

Whom have I EVER slandered, you stupid fuck.

Brilliant!

That's exactly how I feel

Yet another thing that we can thank the banking system for. By manipulating the economy so that both parents are required to work in order to pay the bills. Children are left without role models or required guidance in their formative years.

We are now seeing the results of this in society.

look at the names of the generations:

The Lost Generation (1883-1900)
The Greatest Generation (1901-1924)
The Silent Generation (1925-1945)
The Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
Generation X (1965-1981) <----i fall in this category
Generation Y, Echo Boomers, Generation Next, New Millenials (1982-early 2000s)
Generation Z, Digital Natives, Net Generation, Generation AO (always on)-- (2001-present)

Well said!

I REALLY LIKE what you had to say.

Parents should take time to talk to their kids, not use technology to babysit them.

Also keep kids involved in extra curricular activities.

It builds social skills, gives a sense of caring for community, and belonging, and escalates their self worth and self esteem. It also shows them how to set goals and achieve them...it discourages the entitlement attitude and teaches them about working. The more belonging they feel, the less apt they would turn against society.

Also to add, teach morals and values yes, but dont shove personal beliefs down their throat so strongly they rebel against it....recognize their personality and allow them to form their own opinions.

Also, just because you can afford to give your kids everything, DONT. DONT SPOIL THEM. DONT TEACH THEM GIVE ME GIVE ME.

In America, it is especially hard. We are a comercially driven, consuming society. You cant escape that. But just going for instant gratification all the time, such as.....choosing a quick stop for fast food, instead of cooking....it not only causes health issues, but it denies the time for bonding.


Spend time with your kids. Love them. Kiss them. Hug them.


Give them an allowance, but have them earn it by doing chores. At the same time, make them do chores that you dont pay them for. Teach them to work on things, without expecting an end result right away.

Get to know their friends. Get to know the parents of their friends.

Dont let them have free unrestricted access to the internet.

As much time as you give them for tv, internet, video games, time it.....give the same amount of time in one on one bonding.

Dont let them have their way all the time. Its okay as a parent to say no.

Dont give in on punishments, mean what you say, at the same time, dont give empty threats.

Teach them to give to the world.

Volunteer time, donate toys, write letters, adopt a child i...not physically, but find one your child can write to, send money to, or even visit.

It is true the days that are coming will be dark, but there will be light as well because the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And He is at work through His body which is made up of those who follow Him in truth and in love unlike those who just follow Him in empty words, but act in disobediance to His words. So if you commit yourself to the cause of truth and love, and believe in it even when all hope seems to have failed because He is greater than all the power of darkness in this world combined.

I teach ours salvation through faith. They have no fear. <3

Keep kids away (as much as you are able) from corporate and popular culture and television/movies/pop music. Keep junky, corporate toys out of the home and schools (as much as you are able)....no Bratz, Barbie Dolls, violent video games, sick TV shows, pop music or any of that crap. Your kid is better off with nothing and using their own imagination, than with those crappy corporate toys -- spend money on books, science kits, arts and craft supplies, outings, lessons instead. There are some nice, quality toys and if you don't buy all the crappy stuff, you can afford a few of these...usually old fashioned sorts of things or handmade like a wooden dollhouse or building blocks.

Keep kids busy doing positive things, learning skills, working on hobbies, reading, volunteer work...

I like the book Simplicity Parenting, although we are lackadaisical about it.

(Hope this didn't double post, and if I did I apologize... )

Attachment parenting, no t.v, plenty of story time and hugs. This is what our family is doing. My children also are growing up around very responsible hunters and value life and all the gifts we have been given.

amen!

Good question.
I think you learn empathy through life, through experience. Parents can't teach their children empathy because it is a deep feeling within...
If no one ever hurt you and you were raised in a very protected and smooth way, it may be harder to feel empathy for the hurting of other people/children.
So, if you never have felt pain (whatever kind) yourself, you couldn't feel it in others...?

But if someone felt tóó much pain in life, he/she might hurt others on purpose, taking revenge for the lack of empathy in others.

In my opinion everyone is born with empathy and a lot of other things you need in life. Yet a lot of these things remain unused.

Some people 'play' empathy just to get a nice picture of themselves.

Crying for these children alone in your bed at night is another kind of empathy than saying on a forum that you are crying...

Anyway, it's a beautiful word: 'empathy'

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

(I didn't read that)

Most of you are so so so wrong. It is an extraordinary time for the children because, in these times, the children will inherit the world. Can't you see how well informed and inertly knowledgeable they are? Look into a baby's eyes and see that they know more than us! The question to ask them is what planet they are from? Now, I know that you will say the same about me and maybe you are right. Soon, however, we will all know the truth about our reincarnations.
This is the only planet with freewill and therefore nothing will be given to you unless you ask and what you think will be what you get.
Think happy, think love, smile and all will be wonderful, very very soon thank goodness. Also remember that ALL is prepared for those that seek and so if the sky goes dark do not worry. Fear is an illusion. Love is the reality.
GOD Bless

Not in a coma and living on planet earth ... last time I checked.

I guess you see unemployed people struggling all around both of you ... personally?

Country in Bankruptcy, Fiscal Cliffs, 16 Trillion in debt, high unemployment. Yeah those are the sound bites we are currently being fed...

I just do not see any of this in my daily life. I see people working and buying homes(Realtor) and living good lives all around me. I go out alot and people are out buying, eating, drinking hand over fist...not sure what more to say cuz you don't know me from Adam but I call it how I see it.

anyway this probably belongs on another thread.

Provided my children who are now teenagers with a loving home within a loving marriage. Have dinner together every night. Our children are our first responsibility. Only allowed them to play sports video games. And they would rather be outside playing with friends.

Heard a professional talk about the number of times these young children were shot directly correlates with playing video games. Makes sense to me. The main reason I kept my sons away from the violent video games was to make sure they were not desensitized to the real violence. I grew up with a father, brothers and uncles who were hunters. I would rather teach my sons the responsibility of using guns than innudate them with video game violence.

Send our children to a faith based school, they have a responsibility in the community to have a certain amount of volunteer hours for school. This helps them build relationships within the surrounding community. We have always paid attention to the peer group and friends that our children had. When you do this when they are young, they actually choose to stay away from the children who are the troublemakers.

The bullying thing is a fine line for children. When I consider the alleged actions of the current murder and others like him. This is not a boy that I would have allowed my children to associate with. They know not to make fun of those people who are different, isolated, goth, etc. But there needs to be a discussion about how normal children do choose to stay away from other children whose actions are weird. Sometimes weird is a reason to stay away from someone who is not right in the head. Staying away from that weird kid in school is a way to not be targeted. Staying away does not mean tease or bully, just have no interaction whatsoever. There are disturbed children who have been mainstreamed into schools, when they need special attention for a mental disorder. Instead the medical community fills them with meds and sends them off to school. And their parents are either ignoring the problem or too trusting of the medical community to find the real help that their children need.

no, i see middle-class employed people struggling in every day life.

Canadian kids are better off than Americans, but we are not that better off and unless we Canadians start making changes in our thoughts and actions we will end up in the same situation as the US and Europe are in right now economically, socially and politically. The fact is most Canadians are doing the exact same thing as our Western neighboors are, trusting the school system run by neo-libs, listening to our version of MSN, and basically looking to the government to save our ass

It is time to begin separating our selves from this Babylonian system and begin to learn to be independent, free thinkers and mature thinkers. But most of all we need to remerember the Lord who created us, loved us and died for us.

VERY WISE

ROMANS5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Roger that.

MATTHEW

18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Also, you can't forbid your children to use the internet, tv or phone. If you forbid and protect them from all the evil things, they will become loners without friends.
If you allow all these things, they will have a lot of friends but not sure which one they can trust. So they get insecure and finally also a loner without friends.

A child needs love and attention. Some get too much, some get too little. It has always been that way...