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child to be exposed to this "bud–
dy," his infl ue nce wi ll negate
everything good you 've been trying
to teach your child. Your child is
probably already spending mos t of
his waking hours listening to this
destructive friend. Who is this
character ? The music beat that
blasts 24 hours a day out of thc
"box" (large hand-carr ied radios
known on the streets in the U.S. as
"ghetto blasters").
Many inner-city chi ldren are
addicted to this music. The addic–
tion is often stronger than heroin
and potentially just as destructivc.
The constant expos ure to this
music reinforces the negative life–
style of the streets.
It
influences
childrcn into believing illici t sex is
fine, get ting high is cool, and life in
general is one big party.
J esse J ackson, the leader of a
black U.S. coalition group PUSH ,
out of concern for the progress of
inner-city yout hs, once statcd:
" Music is important to the forma–
tion of c hildren's att itudes because
it 's such a big part of their cul–
ture." J esse J ackson's comment
applies to all races and to all types
of music- definitely to that kind of
music that has negative effects.
Expose your child to the best in all
types of music. Help him or her to
evaluate music based on its effect
and the val ues that the music pro–
jects. Check out what your child is
listening to. Remember, exposure
to bad moods in music will
influence your chi ld to be bad and
exposurc to good moods in music
influences your child to be good.
Expose your chi ld to positivc role
models. Everyone in the communi–
ty is not a dope pusher or mugger.
Lift his or her head high to see the
positive examples of those who
have really made it. Point out the
ones who lived in the ghetto but did
not Jet the ghetto live in them.
Pr aisc the ones who wa lked
through the streets, but who did
not stay in the streets. Point out the
ones who went on to become busi–
nessmen, doctors, engineers, suc–
cessful people in every sector of
society. Expose your child to the
great and he will be great.
Respect for Authority
Why do teenagers disrupt class–
rooms and terrorize whole schools?
July/ August 1985
Why do they rob and then beat to
death old people? One of the majar
reasons is a lack of respect for
authority.
Respect for authority is the most
fundamentally important principie
a parent can teach a child. Without
respect for authority a child cannot
learn from God, parents or anybody
else. He will become a rogue.
Parents, start early teaching your
Expose your
child to
positive role
models....
Praise the ones
who walked
through
the streets, but
who did not
stay in
the streets.
children to respecfyou. Deep down
inside, children want to respect
authority, but they need to know
who is in charge- who has the
authori ty. Their way of seeking
that authority is by challenging
you- testing you to see if you real–
ly mean what you say. And when
they seek, when they test, Jet them
know in loving firmness that you
are indeed in charge!
Teach them that your "yes"
means "yes" and your " no" means
" no" with unwavering consistency.
Train them to speak respectfully
to you. Whatever happened to
" Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am"? That
might sound old-fashioned to sorne,
but it's like a breath of fresh air
hearing those words flowing from
the mouth of a young person. These
words reflect an attitude of honor
and respect for authority.
The apostle Paul instructs chil–
dren: "'Honor your father and
mother,' which is the first com–
mandment with promise: 'that it
may be well with you and you may
live long on the earth'" (Eph. 6:2-
3). As a chi ld honors and respects his
parents, so will he honor and respect
others. He will respect his teachers
and grow in knowledge, understand–
ing and wisdom. He will respect the
laws of the land and develop his or
her talents in school, rather than
going on to prison. A respectful child
can acquire the skills to enable him
or her to grow up to be a straight
successfu l adul t, no matter how
crooked his environment may be.
Teach the Children
The word of God is the foundation of
all knowledge. By teaching your
children about God and bis princi–
pies of living, you will be giving your
children the bes t education possible.
First help your children to devel–
op a personal relationship with God
through prayer. Encourage them to
talk to God about their problems,
their hopes and their dreams. They
will soon discover that tbey have a
friend that "sticks closer than a
brother" (Prov. 18:24).
Your children need God with
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