The Secret Files of a Homeschool Mom

I overheard a comment the other day that gave rise to some speculations on the part of why we find ourselves in a world with decreasing values. A mother was asked whether her daughter had completed an assignment, and she replied, "I don't know. It's not my job to know, since I was out of the house till now."

It is sad to see that many parents have that sentiment of "It's not my job." If it isn't their job, then whose is it? Many children, especially in the teenage category are experiencing hands-off parenting, because many parents choose to remove their guiding hand from their life.

My daughter is just 12, but already she shows signs of typical teen hood behavior. While this is scary, daunting, and demands sacrifice and hard work on my part, (I can only imagine what it will be like when she hits 14), it is my responsibility to do whatever it takes to guide her through these rough years.

Teenagers need rules, guidance, and help. That help does not come from sitting back and letting them do what they want. Sure it is easier that way now, but the end result is a lot harder to deal with. A little work and sacrifice now on the part of the parents, will pay off in a rewarding future for their teen.

Dr. Lickona expresses similar views in his book Educating for Character, "Quality of parenting is the best predictor of whether a youngster gets in trouble with the law. One classic study looked at several thousand junior and senior high school teenagers. It found that the closer the mother's supervision of the child, the better the commu­nication with his or her father, and the greater the affection between child and both parents, the less the likelihood of juvenile delin­quency."