Posted By Jennie Chancey on October 7, 2010

This comes from an excellent piece by Mary R. Hasson over at Mercatornet:

Many of today’s kids seem to be flunking the daily moral tests of life.

James, a teacher-friend of mine, lamented recently how “morally challenged” his high school students seem to be. “They don’t think twice about lying or slamming someone’s reputation. Cheating on tests is no big deal. They only worry if they’ll get caught.”…

College students show declining levels of empathy—a quality viewed as the foundation of ethical behavior. And the problems start early. A quick snapshot of the playground culture captures younger children who bully their way to the top of the slide or push past a crying child to reach the swings first, classic examples of self-absorption and lack of compassion.

What—or who—is to blame?

The specific problems with childrearing today might be summed up by what’s missing: time together, physical closeness, and adult responsiveness. In particular, Narvaez contrasts the “emotionally suboptimal day care facilities with little individualized, responsive care” to the optimal situation that keeps children close to mom, encourages parental responsiveness to infant needs, and offers parents and children strong support from extended family and the community.

We get a lot of questions from feminists asking how we could take issue with a movement that has allegedly helped so many individuals. But it’s that last word that’s key: individuals. One of the biggest beefs we have with the feminist movement is its narrow focus on the happiness or “rights” of individual women and its lack of consideration for the future of the traditional family, which is the safest and best place for children in the short and long term. Aiming for individual happiness and satisfaction without regard for what our present actions will mean for future generations is incredibly short-sighted, and we are only seeing the beginning of the terrible fallout for children and families.

You can read the rest of Mary’s piece at this link.

[Note: This piece is not a dig at single mothers, the widowed, or abandoned. There are obviously situations where the loss of one or both parents cannot be helped. But we are talking about broader trends affecting the whole of society. Unique situations need to be dealt on a case-by-case basis, and this is where families and churches can step up to the plate and offer real, substantial support. See Gleaning the Harvest and Single Momma Shops in our sidebar for examples of how Christians are reaching out to single-parent homes.]

Categories: Hot-Button Issues, Training Children
Tags: children, family, marriage, Mothering