The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I DO not claim to be a modern day sage, a living oracle, or an expert on anything, but if you are having problems with your child or children, then the problem is with you and not the child, because as a parent you have failed that child. That’s my view. And so, if you are at wits end, or are wondering how to turn some troubling situation around, then read on.

One mistake some young parents make is that they try to be friends with their children as apposed to being the parent they ought to be. Quick story. While growing up in Cat Island decades ago, it was standard practice for my siblings and I to repeat the Lord’s prayer in unison at bedtime, and then we would take turns wishing our parents who were in an a joining room “goodnight”. They in turn would respond with a “goodnight”, and the house would become quiet, as sleep overpowered us. The moral of the story is that we should teach our children the virtue of prayer from an early age.

Secondly, do not let your child tell you, or do not ask them what they want to eat or wear. Give them what you have or what you can afford, and let them be satisfied. By so doing, you would be teaching them important attributes like satisfaction and contentment unknowingly to them.

Parents, make it your business to know where your child is at all times, especially after dark. No nine or ten-year-old boy should be coming home late at night, unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Make it non-non-negotiable! Also, insists that all bedroom doors remain unlocked, so that you can monitor what your child is watching. As a parent, your rights to know trumps the privacy on any seven to ten year old boy. Of course, there will be times when one would use one’s discretion. These simple tips could serve as important guardrails or invaluable under pinnings in the lives of your child, but they must be instilled early, because habits are easily formed or broken early in life, since as human beings, we are creatures of habits. Some parents, to their own peril, have surrendered their parental authority and seemingly adopted a spirit of submission in pandering to their children. Appeasement does not work. You set the boundaries. Be fair, but firm. “Oh! but times have changed, and these children have minds of their own,” one might say. Such conveniently manufactured excuses fall flat on their faces. May I refer you to Proverbs 22:6. Nothing about that principle has changed!

As a seventy-one-year-old grandfather, now in my grey hairs, I have grown up four boys (now men) the youngest of which is 36, (just in case you are wondering). While you might consider that nothing to write home about, I believe that positivity is compounded by sharing. This reminds me of an old familiar cliché which says “bend the tree while it’s young”. We are engaged in the struggle of our time; it’s a struggle of life and death. It shall be life. I am a prisoner of hope!

ZEPHANIAH BURROWS

Nassau,

March 11, 2024.