THE MYSTERIES OF CHILDREN

A puzzled mother once asked me: “Why is it that some kids with every advantage and opportunity seem to turn out bad, while others raised in terrible homes become pillars of the community?”

The fact is, the environment doesn’t account for everything. There’s something else within us that makes us who we are. Some behaviour is caused and some plainly isn’t. The boiling water that softens the carrot also hardens the egg. Likewise, some youngsters react positively, while others react negatively. We don’t know why.

Children are more than the sum total of their experiences. They are more than the product of their nutrition or their genetic inheritance. They are certainly more than their parents’ influence.

They are uniquely-crafted individuals, capable of independent and rational thought. That’s what makes parenting so challenging but also so rewarding. We don’t need to take all the blame but neither should we take the full credit.

(Focus on the Family by Dr James Dobson)

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