| Author | Message | ||
     odashiman (odashiman) Junior Member Username: odashiman Post Number: 30 Registered: 9-2005 Posted From: 192.207.114.20 |
D. S. Pope 16 December 2005 www.osvet.com Are You Sure? This article was started as part of an internet discussion on FACTNet.org concerning the biblical differences between J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. The most important matter that was brought forth was whether or not these works of literature have a positive or negative influence on the lives of children. It was D. S. Pope’s opinion that the parents should read these works of literature for themselves so that they would have a more viable basis of opinion by which they may discuss these matters with their children. What follows are a series of questions that parents need to ask themselves in order to gauge the type of influence that they are having in the lives of their children. This is not meant to brow-beat the reader or point out things that they may be doing wrong, but to engage the reader’s mind in order to affect a more positive relationship with his family. It is not meant to be offensive, only to be an intellectual tool. Have your children tried drugs? Have they tried alcohol? Have they tried cigarettes? Has someone tried to offer your children drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes? Do your children use profanity in the home? Do your children use profanity at school? Do you use profanity in the home? Do you use profanity at work? Do your children know this? Are they sexually active? If not, have they thought about it? What do they know about it? Are they receiving the right information from their peers, family members, school officials, or other sources? Are your children confident enough in their relationship with you that they can talk to you about these things without getting a lecture, rhetoric, or false information? Are you sure? What did your children learn during their last Math class? What is your child's reading grade-level? Is it lower than his current school grade level? Are you sure? When was your last PTA meeting? Were your children involved in that meeting? What is your child's best subject in school? What is your child's worst subject in school? Are you sure? If you are a Christian, what was the last book of the Bible your child read? What did your child learn from that scripture? Is what your child learned doctrinally correct? Are you sure? What was the last secular book your child read? What did your child learn from that book? Does the book in question AND its author reflect the types of values that you are trying to teach your children? What are the values that you are trying to teach your children? Do your children have the values in question? Do they understand why they are important? Are you sure? What are the ministry credentials of your children's Sunday School Teachers? What are the ministry credentials of your church pastor? Are you sure? What is the name of your child's best friend? What is the name of your child's worst enemy? Have those names changed recently? If your child is involved in sports, what is the name of your child's coach? What is the name of the coach's spouse? What kind of safety equipment does the team use, and is the safety equipment in proper working order? Does your child know CPR? Do you know CPR? Why not? Does your child know all of the emergency exits in your home? Does you child know what to do in case of a fire? Do YOU know what to do in case of a fire? Are you sure? When was the last time you put fresh batteries in the smoke detectors in your home? How many fire extinguishers are there in your home? How many fire extinguishers are there in your children's school? What type of fire extinguishers are they? What kind of fires do they put out? Do you know how to use them? Do your children know how to use them? Are they physically able to use them? Are you sure? How many interracial friends do your children have? How do your children feel about people of other ethnicities? How are your children’s feelings influenced: by you, by their peers, or by television and movies? How do your children interact with people who are different? How do your children interact with people who are disabled? How do your children interact with authority figures? How do your children interact with lawless or criminally-minded people? How do your children react to sound reason and positive influences? How do your children react to radicalism or fundamentalist ideologies? How do your children react to those who try to harm other people? Are you sure? Do your children know how to recognize abuse? Do they know about all types of abuse such as physical, emotional, sexual, mental, or spiritual abuse? Do they know how to report these types of abuses? Do they know who to talk to? Do they talk to you? Do you know how to respond when they talk to you about such things? Are you sure? Have you taken a college-level child psychology course? Have you taken a college-level child development course? Why not? Has your babysitter? Can your babysitter answer many of the questions in this article? Can your babysitter answer more of the questions in the article than you can? Are you sure? The reader may cut out any or all of the previously-asked questions; however, the following questions MUST BE ANSWERED!!! When was the last time you told your children that you loved them? Do you love your children? Do your children know that you love them? Can your children answer that last question without being asked or prompted? Are you sure? |
