Sandra F. Banks
I have always thought that raising children came naturally to parents. I thought that when children come into your life you knew immediately what to do; apparently I was wrong. As a child our parents nurtured us; they made sure we received a good education; checked our homework, fed us, clothed us, allowed extracurricular activities, spent quality time with us on Sunday drives, baking, fishing, and working on the family car. All of those activities broadened our horizons so that we would be well rounded children and adults. Out of the five children our parents raised “in the hood” all are truly good people, with careers and who are loving to their family and friends.
As I worked my way through my legal career I discovered that many parents simply allow their children to grow just as a weed will grow; all on its own. We all have seen weeds grow in spite of asphalt, concrete, and some of the harshest conditions one can think of. Weeds are resilient, they just grow, but weeds do not add to the value of what is around it. We always want to stamp out weeds. Weeds have no value to us they become a nuisance. Much like the child who is not cultivated a child who is just allowed to “grow” will not have the nourishing food necessary to feed his mind for his classes; a child who is not cultivated is allowed to watch television for hours on end without conversation between him and his parents; a child who is not cultivated becomes a weed. That child even becomes a weed to his parents and they wonder why the child turned out that way. It is not enough to give the child a house to live in and food to eat.
If you want to be parents, you must take out all the tools available to you and fertilize your child’s mind, feed your child’s stomach, nourish your child’s soul and embrace your child with love. Without these things you will raise just another weed that you, along with society will want to stamp out.
I’m Just Saying…….