ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Raising children in a world where rules don't seem to matter

Updated on May 22, 2011

At least it give us alot to talk about...

 I have spent the greater part of this week answering questions from my children about why people behave the way they do.  My 9 year old can't understand why people think it is alright to steal from others.  My older children were amazed that so many people spent the entire week talking about the "end of the world" simply because one person told so many others that he had heard word from God.  As I have to remind them, people tend to think what they are doing is okay or sometimes the right thing.  We cannot control the actions of others, we just have to watch how we behave and be sure our behavior is appropriate.  It is the only course of defense we have. 

We had an issue this week, that is ongoing involving theft.  It truly upset our family.  We felt terribly violated, our security taken from us.  The children were left wondering why, when we have to work so hard for all we have, someone would be callous enough to think they could just simply take it away from us, like it was their right to do so.  I had to explain repeatedly that some people think it is alright to take from others because they themselves have problems and feel that if they just take from someone else, their problems will disappear.  Of course I have to make sure they know that the problems will only worsen for them in the end, but that does not restore the sense of security that is taken from them and from us.

My sons were annoyed that they spent so much time hearing about the "end of the world" issue.  I reminded them that if a person is right in themselves and right with their God, they have no worry about such things.  That this is all for media attention and maybe someone somewhere open up a religious book due to this and is feeling better today, this we have to hope for, not the negative side of things.

It is hard to be positive in today's world.  Our family has truly been shaken to the core over the past five years.  We have been hurt terribly by those we loved and trusted.  We have yet to fully recover.  So all of these small infractions seem to hurt even more.  My son was very disappointed about not being selected for something he wanted recently, but the disappointment was greater because some chosen in his place where far less qualified than he, and one had not even followed the rules, rules my son feels are extremely important, yet his peers and the adults in charge do not think it matters.  This sort of behavior makes it very hard to teach your children right from wrong.  But we will and I reminded him that in the very same period he suffered this disappointment, he also was honored for his achievements in something else, something he had earned on pure work, not from a popularity contest where people can break rules.  I reminded him that hard work and an honest heart will pay off in the end, even though it seems like it won't. He has other chances for this and more honors.  Work harder and it will pay off.  We will keep trudging ahead in our quest to raise decent human beings despite all the other adults who think its okay to bend the rules.  Someday it will pay off.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)