When We're Too Busy…
Who Is Listening To Our Children?
By: G.D. Tudor
 

I think this is one topic that parents in general don't like to think about and they definitely don't like to talk about it. But the truth of the matter is, it's one that shouldn't be ignored and should be answered by each of us that come under the heading of "Parent".

It's so easy to get caught up in our own lives that we ignore the needs of our children. We worry about our work outside the homes, our coworkers, which friend is dating who, what we will do over the weekend, and what's right and wrong in our own little worlds, but what about our children?

How often do you sit down and listen to the kind of day your child had at school? How often do you ask what's going on in their lives? How often do you and your children do something as a real family, like a picnic outside or if it's raining, why not in the living room? How often do you let them choose the outing the family goes on?

How often have you read about the increase in violence led by children…our children? How often did you as a parent wonder what is happening to the younger generation? I have and it didn't take me long to come up with several different conclusions, but one stuck out more than any other.

What's wrong with our children? There's no one there to listen to them.

Why do our teenagers turn to street gangs? Why do they shave their heads and join cults? Simple. Their fellow members are there. They are not judged or criticized. What we might think is strange, too immature and too time consuming to bother with, these "others" do not. They give our children the attention that they lack and they make them feel as though they are worth listening to.

Shouldn't we be the ones doing this for our children? Shouldn't we as parents be the ones our children turn to? Shouldn't we be the ones that give them self-esteem? As they go through the rough times of adolescence, shouldn't we be the ones that lead them? We should be the ones that praise our children, not some gang member whose only objective is to lead their fellow members further astray and away from us.

The more we neglect our children the more these "others" will turn our children against us. And whose fault is it, theirs… or ours? If we took the time to spend with our children, wouldn't that build a better home life for them, a home life that they will not turn against so quickly? How hard can it be for us to fit our children into our busy schedules?

Or should that be the other way around? How hard can it be to fit the other things into our family life? There is one thing we must remember when we're too busy, we know who is waiting to listen to our children.