Today in society, having kids is a frightening concept. There’s the constant threat of sex trafficking, kidnappings and so much more. Evidently there’s no foolproof way to prevent horrible things from happening to kids, but parents do everything in their power to keep their children safe. To grasp how it must feel to be a parent in society today, I asked seven adults, ages 37-45 to tell me what it feels like to be a parent at this moment in time. Here’s what they told me:
“I have three teenaged sons and am coming to grips with the fact that I am less and less in control. I have to trust that we’ve raised our kids to make wise, even if unpopular, decisions in the world they live in.” - Mother, age 42
“As a father of a 7 year old almost everyday I think about how I can make my son strong enough to say no when needed and take personal responsibility for his actions. But more than anything I try to show him love every day.” - Father, age 45
“I think there is so much more anxiety on parents’ shoulders in this day and age, because the world is a scarier place than when we grew up. I struggle with constant worry about the safety and well-being of my children, not just because accidents happen and kids sometimes make dumb and unsafe decisions, but because we are constantly bombarded with the threat of school shooting and sex-trafficking and any number of other evils. Even though these extreme cases may be somewhat rare, we hear about them all the time, so it feels like it’s almost impossible to keep our kids safe from every possible danger they might face. My parents never had to worry about these kinds of things, so I do think there is a new element of anxiety in parenting today.” - Mother, age 44
“I have the unique ability to raise compassionate children who will be beacons of light for those around them. Although it is frightening to imagine the pain and suffering that they may face in their lifetime, especially after I am gone, I think about all of the love and healing that they can provide to others.” - Mother, age 37
“Being a parent is by far the greatest experience in life for me. It truly has given me what you might call religious experiences and perspectives. Yes, it is absolutely scary, but as long as you are a loving parent, you will be amazed with the courage you attain simply loving them. The kids certainly make me a better me. All parents are concerned about a many number of things. We are certainly grateful to live in the community and the country that we do; it is the greatest and safest place to raise them. There is a lot of hate being fostered in our society, and that is scary. There is much effort being placed in breaking each other down, versus support and building each other up. So many believe, and are being trained to believe, they are victims. These then do not see personal responsibility for themselves or their society, and therefore don't contribute to it, but only take from it, and ultimately and often unknowingly try to destroy it. The symptoms are the inflammatory culture of today, rampant social categorization, the crippling and censoring effect of PC culture, and the resulting decline of basic moral values like honesty (the exact opposite result of that which it claims to foster). Persecution and self-deprecation (not only the personal self, but one's society) are always unfortunate traits in such a society. But fortunately, I also subscribe to the pendulum theory, and I am confident that things will continue to surge and withdraw as they always have, so I am confident that we will learn and get better. My hope and prayers are that my kids either ride the wave of progress, or carry the flag to bring it, but I am determined they will be well-prepared contributors! There is still a LOT of love around, you just gotta pay attention to it and always be ready to receive it.” - Father, age 45
“It’s so hard. Every day, I just want my son to make the right choices so he grows into a dependent young man. There’s so much hate in this world right now, it’s so scary raising a child.” - Mother, age 41
“I have lots of friends who say they are scared for their children to be raised in our society these days. I disagree. I don’t know what it was like to raise kids before cell phones and social media, but I imagine they had their hardships as well. I know many people worry about the safety of our world but I believe that there is probably not an increased incidence of scary things happening, just an increased awareness of them thanks to the media. I don’t know how to eliminate the terrible things that happen in the world. All I can do is educate my kids to keep them as safe as possible and teach them to look for the good things in the world. No matter what is going on around you, there’s always good. You just have to choose to see it.” - Mother, age 39
