...Peer-parenting?
Wonders will never cease. I was just casuallly looking through a newspaper and noticed the term "peer-parenting." It was defined as: "Talking like a peer but acting like a parent."
I can't imagine why any parent would want to talk to their child as if they are the child's peer. Is it to use adult "peer-pressure" on their child(ren) or to dilute the impact of actual peer-pressure on their children? I know God invites us to come & reason with Him (Isa 1:18a)
...but we know that does not make us God. He is not peer-parenting so where would anyone have come up with such an absurd idea from? I was really saddened when I saw this quote: "The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children."* While I agree with the fact of the quote, I disagree that is is impressive - it is a rather depressing reality...possibly proliferated with the current "peer-parenting" concept.
The minute we make the mistake of mixing parenting with trying to be our child's friend, we're going down the wrong path. Now there is benefit in being friendly with your children - & that's not the same as being your child's friend. In 1994, President Bill Clinton declared the 4th Sunday of July (last Sunday) as "Parents' Day" as a way of "recognizing, uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children." It goes without saying that parents i.e. female mother and male father both play a fundamental role in raising balanced children - neither a child, his/her siblings nor their peers have the experience to raise them right.
Being a parent is a privilege and responsibility we must never take lightly...so, please don't.
Source:
*Edward, Duke of Windsor, Look, 5 March 1957
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