It's time to let out a dirty little secret divorced people try to ignore or cover up. There is a huge problem happening in the world today, and it's all our fault.
It's the kids. Kids of divorced parents are what is wrong with the world. MY kids are part of the problem. So are David's. So are 99% of kids from divorced parents. Whether divorced parents admit it or not, we've all done it..... to an extent. We've tried to win their affections away from the other parent. It's true, we do it without thinking. All we know is that we want the kids to want to be with us more than their other parent, so we let them do things we normally wouldn't. We buy them an extra something or other. We don't correct them every time they do something wrong. Basically we try to make them happy, or happier than the other parent does.
Right after my boy's dad moved out of our house the spoiling began. Without knowing, I was giving into them for everything. I no longer ran my house, my boys did. They called the shots and got away with murder. Why? Because I felt bad for what they were going through.
I'm very thankful I took notice to what was happening and tried to change my behavior. For some parents though, it never ends. It becomes the new normal, and thus rotten, no good, spoiled little brat children are born.
Whether the motive is to be the 'cool' parent, or the 'fun' parent, or if it's like me, and simply trying to make up for putting them through this pain. It's something we've all done. We relinquish our duties, and in return the kids get spoiled.
For me, I was hit with a big dose of reality when I finally opened my ears and heard the horrible, disrespectful words that were coming out of my child's mouth. I said "no more" and we moved into what I refer to as the spanking phase. I had a wooden spoon in every room of my house. I probably spanked each of them 4-5 times a day to start. (Not a fan of spanking? Sorry, it's in the Bible. Insert your own form of discipline here). Anyway, a new sheriff was in town and the rules were changing.
I no longer cared if they liked me. I didn't care if they had more fun at daddy's house. Every time I heard the words "but daddy lets us...." I immediately responded with "I. Don't. Care." I was not put on this earth to be their friend and try to win their approval. God gave me these boys to turn into good, respectable men, and they were going to start by respecting me. Trying to be your child's friend is the fastest way to ruin them. How are kids going to learn to do what's right if they aren't being corrected? They aren't born kind and respectful, it has to be taught. People see having babies as fun and cute, and adding little buddies to their family. But it's not like that! It's work, and if you don't put in the hard work everyone suffers, especially the child.
Now, believe me, I'm far from the tyrant it sounds like. Even still to this day when the boys get back from a visit with their dad I tend to turn back into doormat-mom. Mostly because I'm the one that moved them ten hours away from him. I still carry some guilt about that. But after a few days of them being back and pushing me to my limit, I snap and have a big discipline fest and they straighten up.
The problem is our country is currently seeing 50% of its parents get divorced. That means half of the kids in our nation are being spoiled rotten. They are being fought over, bought off, and let run the show. They are probably the reason every kid gets a trophy, and why teachers have to change grades for undeserving students. The problem with the other 50% of the kids in our country is that they see their divorced-parent friends getting their way and being bought their heart's desire, so they then go home and complain to their parents about the raw deal they're getting. Or worse, married parents see how divorced parents treat their kids and actually take on some of those bad habits without realizing, probably to look cool or some stupid reason. So that means a good 20-30% of kids from non-divorced parents end up being raised spoiled rotten as well!
I know this is just my hypothesis, but I stand behind it. If people wonder why all these millennials started throwing fits and needing cry rooms, this is it. We're living in a world where kids are the rulers, and it's not going to get any better.
Gloomy huh?
Well, I can't end this post on a negative note. But is there a solution? I can't say. I know that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord the best we can, and that means we do our best to raise gentlemen. We will discipline, we will spank, and we will try our darndest to teach them to respect us as well as others. We will do our best to help them become kind, normal functioning adults. All we can do is work on our small corner of the world. And who knows, if one person reads this and it makes a change, then it was worth putting it out there.
My advice (for what it's worth)... Get your kids used to hearing the word 'no'. A lot. It will prepare them for a cruel world.
And then drag them to church for crying out loud. I don't care if they complain, you take them anyway. I'm tired of kids calling the shots.
Please, I'm begging you.
God bless you all.
LLM
