{"id":6501,"date":"2016-08-04T06:35:49","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T10:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6501"},"modified":"2016-08-04T06:55:48","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T10:55:48","slug":"children-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6501","title":{"rendered":"children matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"photo-1444840535719-195841cb6e2b\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[Today is post #2\u00a0in our annual, summer Guest Writer Series. Note that the opinions expressed may or may not be held by the Intramuralist.]<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Black Lives Matter\u2026White Lives Matter\u2026Cops Lives Matter\u2026 I am so tired of hearing these overused phrases. Bottom line: We All Matter. More importantly, Our Children Matter. What are we teaching them with all of this hate and violence going on in America right now?<\/p>\n

When I was a child, I would leave my house in the morning and play most of the day and well into the evening with my friends and cousins. We would stop in to one of our homes for a bite to eat and then we were back out to ride our bikes, climb trees, capture the imaginary \u201cbad\u201d guys, build forts, and just be kids. We checked in with our parents from time to time but we were free to wander the neighborhood and play. It was a care-free time for all of us, and our parents never really worried about our safety other than maybe a rare broken bone or need for stitches from time to time. Life was simple and life was good.<\/p>\n

It makes me sad that children today will never experience this type of innocence. Sure, they still play outside but most, only with adult supervision. They can\u2019t hop on their bikes and ride to their friends\u2019 houses on the other side of the neighborhood without mom or dad following closely. They can\u2019t skip from house to house and make their own lunches without an adult or older sibling being present. They can\u2019t catch lightning bugs or play kick the can in the evenings without someone watching after them. The care-free days of letting kids be kids are gone. Evil has replaced goodness in our society. At some point over the past 50 years, life has changed, and not for the better. Life is no longer simple and life no longer holds the purity and naivety that it once did.<\/p>\n

That being said, I believe that every child is born innocent and good, with a pure heart. Each child is absent of evil and hate. However, life experiences teach children bad things. The news media floods society with horrible stories virtually 24 hours a day. You rarely hear of stories where good prevails over evil. News outlets fight to break stories of disgusting, criminal activities. As parents, we can try to shield our children of these things, yet with access to technology, children still find out atrocities that are happening each and every day of their lives. They see the bad and they learn the hate that is prevailing in our world.<\/p>\n

Even our political leaders are tainted. We have two Americans running for the highest political office that have less than stellar pasts. It is sad that a country as great as America once was, can\u2019t nominate two better individuals than what we have. I am scared to think of what the country will be for our children and our grandchildren when they become adults. How can we expect America to return to goodness and honor when we continue to elect sub-par, corrupt leaders?<\/p>\n

The only way we are going to instill the love and goodness back into our children and society is to start at home with the most basic family unit. We, as parents, must lead our children and teach them respect and dignity. We need to get back to the days of spanking our kids or grounding them and holding them responsible for their actions. We need to get away from participation trophies; celebrate the wins and acknowledge the losses. Our children need to see us doing random acts of kindness for others. We need to donate our time and take our children with us to learn the importance of this act of goodness. We need to enjoy nature and show our kids all of its beauty. We need to smile at others and hold the door for people. Let your children see you doing these things.<\/p>\n

I know we all try to be good and strive to be better people; however, a breakdown of society has happened and will continue to happen if we don\u2019t do something to change it. We must change these news reports of civil unrest, mass shootings, the killing of police, rape, murder, robberies, etc. as\u00a0the norm for our children as they grow into adulthood.<\/p>\n

I leave you with\u00a0the words from Tim Mc Graw’s recently released song, titled \u201cHumble and Kind.\u201d May\u00a0these lyrics encourage all of us,\u00a0remembering them as we go through our days and raise our children:<\/p>\n

You know there\u2019s a light that glows by the front door<\/em>
\nDon\u2019t forget the keys under the mat<\/em>
\nWhen childhood starts shine, always stay humble and kind<\/em>
\nGo to church cause your momma says too<\/em>
\nVisit grandpa every chance that you can<\/em>
\nIt won\u2019t be wasted time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hold the door say please say thank you<\/em>
\nDon\u2019t steal, don\u2019t cheat, and don\u2019t lie<\/em>
\nI know you got mountains to climb but<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind. <\/em>
\nWhen the dreams you\u2019re dreamin come to you<\/em>
\nWhen the work you put in is realized<\/em>
\nLet yourself feel the pride but<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect a free ride from no one<\/em>
\nDon\u2019t hold a grudge or a chip and here\u2019s why<\/em>
\nBitterness keeps you from flying<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind. <\/em>
\nKnow the difference with sleeping with someone<\/em>
\nAnd sleeping with someone you love<\/em>
\nI love you ain\u2019t no pick up line so<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hold the door say please say thank you<\/em>
\nDon\u2019t steal, don\u2019t cheat, and don\u2019t lie<\/em>
\nI know you got mountains to climb but<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind. <\/em>
\nWhen the dreams you dreamin come to you<\/em>
\nWhen the work you put in is realized<\/em>
\nLet yourself feel the pride but<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind.<\/em><\/p>\n

When it\u2019s hot, eat a root-beer popsicle<\/em>
\nShut off the AC and roll the windows down<\/em>
\nLet that summer sun shine<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind<\/em>
\nDon\u2019t take for granted the love this life gives you<\/em>
\nWhen you get where you goin\u2019<\/em>
\nDon\u2019t forget turn back around<\/em>
\nAnd help the next one in line<\/em>
\nAlways stay humble and kind.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sincerely\u2026
\nLS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Today is post #2\u00a0in our annual, summer Guest Writer Series. Note that the opinions expressed may or may not be held by the Intramuralist.]   Black Lives Matter\u2026White Lives Matter\u2026Cops Lives Matter\u2026 I am so tired of hearing these overused phrases. Bottom line: We All Matter. More importantly, Our Children Matter. What are we teaching … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “children matter”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[598],"class_list":["post-6501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-issue","category-daily-life","tag-lives-matter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6501"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6516,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6501\/revisions\/6516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}