Modern Day Parenting Trends We Should Avoid ~ BimzTheory

This issue of parenting is not exactly a walk in the park especially in recent times when children are becoming bolder and exposed to all sort via the internet and other forms of technology alike.

A few weeks ago I came across a story on the internet of a 4 year old girl in Delaware who gave tiny packets of cocaine to her daycare classmates because she thought it was candy. Her mother, who was arrested earlier this month, said she gave her daughter the wrong backpack and couldn't tell the police how 249 packets of cocaine ended up in her possession. And like the Ebola virus,the issue of bad parenting seems to be spreading because some parents are taking wrong decisions as regards how their children are being raised.

According to J.Lee Grady, an editor with Charisma Magazine, he believes raising children the old fashioned way is actually better than modern day parenting where recent trends seem not to be helping the children. He gave the the following as some of such trends:

1. Whacky names.

We joke about the ridiculous names some film and music stars give their kids: Pilot Inspektor, Denim, Camera, Blanket or Diva Thin Muffin. Yet the common people come up with even stranger names for their babies: Facebook, Hashtag, Aquafresh, Cheese, Chlamydia, Random and even Felony. Do these parents want their kids to be bullied? I'm all for creativity, but if you name your child after a dairy product, social media or a sexually transmitted disease you are setting them up for abuse.

2. Allowing kids to "explore" their gender.

Our culture today has gone insane when it comes to gender rules. In some schools in the US, teachers are urged not to "impose" gender on boys or girls but to let them "decide" which gender they are, regardless of reality. And there are parents who insist that their fourth-grade boy be allowed to go in the girls' restroom because he "feels" he is a girl. Am I the only person who believes that the "psychologists" responsible for this trend need therapy themselves?

3. Sexualizing children.

Back in my day kids really didn't think about sex until hormones started kicking in at age 13. When I was 9, I was playing with Lincoln Logs, watching Johnny Quest cartoons and learning how to tie square knots. Today, experts say children show sexual interest and engage in sexual behavior earlier than ever. Much of this is fueled by pornography, but television, music videos (think Miley Cyrus' influence on tween girls) and even toys are also to blame. The popular Bratz dolls feature young girls dressed in fishnet hose and miniskirts and wearing heavy makeup. And why did Victoria's Secret produce underwear last year featuring the words "Eye Candy" and "Wink Wink" and then market them to pre-teen girls? Parents who expose their kids to sexually charged media or clothing simply invite trouble. Learn to put guardrails around the media your child is exposed to.

4. Showcasing kids.

At the risk of offending church moms who put their daughters in pageants: Please stop it. We all know there's only one reason a mother would force her 3 year old daughter to wear mascara and tons of hair spray to compete with other toddlers in a beauty contest: It's all about the mothers. The girls are the victims. It has already been proven that girls who are subjected to these expensive pageants suffer from eating disorders and other self-image issues. Forcing your child to live out your fantasies is cruel.

5. Not showing affection.

I can't tell you how many times I've asked a group of grown men how many of them had fathers who hugged them during their childhood. Often not one hand goes up. The concept of a loving dad who wrestles with his kids or bounces them on his knee has become a fairy tale to many people and the lack of affection shows up later in insecurity, depression and a host of other psychological problems. Doctors have proven that human beings need seven expressions of meaningful touch every day. Depriving kids of wholesome affection is as serious as withholding food and water.

6. Abandoning your kids.

One-third of all children growing up in many parts of the world today don't have a father in the home and this number continues to increase every day. Children who grow up in single-parent families face higher risk of poverty, and many end up delinquent, addicted to drugs or alcohol or in jail. This crisis represents a huge mission field for churches today, but we can't fight the abandonment epidemic unless we can convince more parents to consider the kids before they break up a family.

7. Giving your kids everything they want.

The word discipline has become a dirty word in our lexicon. Children today have all the toys and expensive gadgets they want, but they are not expected to share in household chores and don't even want to tie their own shoes or take out the garbage. It's no wonder some year old men end up living with their parents and playing video games all day: They never learned adult responsibility, so they are stuck in perpetual adolescence. What we need today is a massive movement to reclaim principles of protective love and strong discipline along with a huge dose of common sense.