Raising kids is all about ensuring that they are able to develop with as little disruptions as possible. We aim to prevent them from experiencing extremely traumatic situations such as abuse & neglect. We know life isn’t perfect, and we shouldn’t try to shelter them from all hurt & pain; however, we must make it our business to provide them a safe space to develop.
It doesn’t take much to realize just how sinful and corrupt this world is. Daily, the news reports of murders, mass murders, suicides, etc. Disheartening, teenagers are often the most affected by these issues. Statistics open our minds to the real issues that our teens are facing. Anxiety, insecurity, depression & suicide are on the rise, just to name a few.
The technological advancements of this age certainly play a role. Research reports many negative effects of excessive social media use, but I’m certain that as a society we have yet to fully understand the full extent of this social media age.
What are disruptions to healthy development?
Disruptions to healthy development can be anything that prevents our children from developing in an ideal manner. Now, no doubt, there is no perfect development as we don’t live in a perfect world. Our kids will experience difficulty and disruptions as they develop, and this is good as their early challenges will strengthen & prepare them for future obstacles that they are bound to face in life. Our aim as parents is to limit their disruptions as they develop.
Attempting to control & overly shelter our children will not only stress us but also them by adding yet another disruption to healthy development.
It is so important for us, as parents, to remember that we are essentially preparing our kids for adulthood. We are preparing them for life. When we look around, we’re seeing the world that our kids will live them. Will they face various trials? Will they be challenged? Hurt? Yes, yes, yes.
The key is to look at their childhood & their time under our roof as training time- developing time. They need a full 18 years to get to a place of maturity to be able to handle the world out there. Even then, they won’t have it all. We don’t have it all. They will embark on a lifelong journey of learning & developing.
While they are kids & teens, however, they are in major developing stages. They are not yet fully developed; they are not yet fully matured. While they are developing and maturing, let’s give them the space to develop into healthy & whole beings.
We can’t remove all disruptions, but we can limit them so we can give our kids the best start as possible.
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