CONSIDER THIS….TEACHING OUR CHILDREN LIFE’S PRINCIPLES
April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month. While our hearts go out to all of the victims involved in horrific acts of abuse and neglect, we would like to shed light on a topic that, while not considered child abuse as we know it, does impact the future of our children from a different perspective; that of parental responsibility.
There are more common everyday issues that parents may be overlooking that will impact our children’s lives and cause scars that might not be physical, but if not addressed, will affect them and future generations. Here are just a few things to think about.
✓ Diet: What are your children eating? Are they receiving the proper nutrients? How successful can they be if they are unhealthy and suffer from preventable diseases? It is a known fact that diets high in sugar affect a child’s ability to concentrate and can lead to hyperactive behaviors. A study comparing the sugar response in children and adults showed that the adrenaline levels in children remained ten times higher than normal for up to five hours after a test dose of sugar.
The lack of certain nutrients in children’s diets affect their performance and brain function. Foods rich in omega 3s and omega 6s contribute to brain health. These can be found in cold water fish such as salmon and tuna and in eggs, walnuts and pumpkin seeds. It is each parent’s responsibility to ensure that our children’s diets include foods that benefit and not hurt their bodies and minds.
✓ Education: We ensure that our children focus on maintaining good grades from primary through secondary school to get into competitive universities and other institutions of learning. What happens after that? Have they decided on a major course of study? Does their career choice fit their desired lifestyle? When will they exhaust their financial aid or savings? Do they really need that student loan now or are just looking for some extra spending change? Will they need to attend Graduate School? Planting these seeds at the appropriate time help our children make important decisions about their educations, especially when banks and credit card companies start extending them credit the second they become of age, offering enormous sums in the forms of loans to them. We need to make sure our kids understand the repercussions of taking out huge loans and how this will affect them after college.
✓ Financial: Will their career provide enough income to raise a family, pay bills, travel? Do they know the importance of life insurance? How much do they set aside for retirement? We say save for rainy days, but how much? Is it good to invest in stocks?
✓ Credit: Have you explained what credit is or how it works? Do they know what a credit report looks like? Why is good credit important? How will they purchase their first vehicle or home if they haven’t established credit or have bad credit?
We spend the beginning stages of life nurturing, teaching and molding our children to become successful young adults. However, life truly begins at 18. Are we equipping them with the right information? The choices our children make in their adult years are the ones that follow them throughout life. These decisions could be rewarding or detrimental. Let’s do our part to point them in the right direction that will lead them down the path towards successful lives.
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