The other morning as I was praying, the children in today’s world and their fears, came to mind. There must be so many who are needlessly fearful about the condition of our climate. What are the emotional results of this fear? I’m concerned that we have a generation of kids who are fearful of things that they need not be afraid of. I can sympathize with them. When I was a kid, “scientists” were predicting a new ice age, as that link and this copy of a Newsweek article from the 70’s shows. Now in more recent years, alarms go off about global warming. Yet, I recently read that Arctic sea ice is expanding in complete contradiction to the forecasters models.
I am skilled in logic and problem-solving so this is where my mind goes: what was the average temperature over a 50 year span 500 years ago, 1000 years ago? Could it be that it was on the high side? Maybe it was on the low side? One thing I am sure of simply based on my experience is that weather is cyclical, and living in Oklahoma, that cycle can be daily! Computer models are not fact and they are only as good as the data used in them and the programming they are created with.
We should never instill fear in children. Warn them yes, impart wisdom, yes, teach them what they should be concerned about and avoid, yes. When I was a younger parent I feel certain that I instilled fear in my children over stranger danger. I probably didn’t handle it as well as I should have. But, at least that is an evidenced threat that they could’ve faced.
Another very real threat that we need to prepare our children for is pornography and other online dangers. In addition to using programs or devices to protect them, it is extremely important to prepare them mentally so that they have the proper response when and if they see it. The human sexual drive is a powerful thing that kids are not going to naturally be equipped to handle. The way that they respond the first time they are confronted with pornography can directly affect whether it becomes a problem for them. Do they flee from it or are they lured in by it? See my other posts about the best ways to mentally preparing them for the very real online threats that exist today.
