Courageous Parenting

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post is focuses on a October 2010 General Conference talk called, "Courageous Parenting" by Elder Larry R. Lawrence. I would like to share with you some highlights that I have liked while I was reading the talk. 

Elder Lawrence mentioned, "There are no perfect parents and no easy answers, but there are principles of truth that we can rely on. As we are reminded in the family proclamation, parents are responsible for the protection of their children. That means spiritually as well as physically.

Elder Robert D. Hales has observed, “Sometimes we are afraid of our children, afraid to counsel with them for fear of offending them.” It’s so important for husbands and wives to be united when making parenting decisions. 

If either parent doesn’t feel good about something, then permission should not be granted.

I would like to share with you a letter from a heartbroken mother. Her teenage son gradually lost the Spirit and drifted away from Church activity. She explained how this happened: “All throughout my son’s teenage years, I worried and tried to stop him from playing violent video games. 

I talked to my husband and showed him articles in the Ensign and in the newspaper that cautioned about these games. But my husband felt it was OK. He said that our son wasn’t out using drugs and that I should stop worrying. There were times that I would hide the controllers, and my husband would give them back. 

"What the world really needs is courageous parenting
from mothers and fathers who are not afraid to
speak up and take a stand."
    

It began to be easier for me to give in … than to fight it. I really feel that gaming is just as addictive as drugs. I would do anything to prevent other parents from going through this experience.” Brothers and sisters, if your spouse doesn’t feel good about something, show respect for those feelings. 

When you take the easy way out by saying and doing nothing, you may be enabling destructive behavior. There is a great deal of wisdom displayed when parents stay up and wait for their children to return home. Young men and women make far better choices when they know their parents are waiting up to hear about their evening and to kiss them good night. 

Peer pressure becomes more powerful when our children are away from our influence and when their defenses are weakened late at night. Always be prayerful when it comes to protecting your precious children. One of the most effective ways we can influence our sons and daughters is to counsel with them in private interviews. 

By listening closely, we can discover the desires of their hearts, help them set righteous goals, and also share with them the spiritual impressions that we have received about them. Counseling requires courage. Satan and his followers are striving to bring this generation down; the Lord is counting on valiant parents to bring them up.

I know that God hears and will answer your prayers. I testify that the Lord supports and blesses courageous parents." If you would like to read the whole talk either now or in your own time, here is the link below.

www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/courageous-parenting

Stay Tuned until next time.