Are our children really growing up too quick???

[Guest Guest]

No doubt, the best thing for a child is to see both of their parent live a living example of how God wants us to live, sad to say few children have this type of an example lived before them.

Far to many are exposed to anything and everything and it gets the best of them, its difficult enough for the children without that.

Well said, Brother Jerry.
God bless,
Crushmaster.

[John81]

[quote="futurehope"]Good posts all. Though I must say that I disagree with many of you on the point of referring to what is going on with the youth in our country and the world as "growing up too quick". I think they are actually growing up too slow. Someone had mentioned about how people used to get married at 16 and now children are told not to get married until after they've graduated college and are well into a good career. The fact of the matter is, God designed us to be ready to marry and have children at a much earlier age. It wasn't God's plan to have us go through puberty and then still have years of growing up to still do. Many scholars estimate that Mary was about 14 when she was pregnant with Jesus.

What I'm getting at is this: society has programmed people to have an inbalance within themselves. God's design for our bodies was also for our mind; but youth today are expected to stay "children" in a mental sense long past the time that their bodies have matured. The result becomes that their natural instincts fight back and, since they aren't allowed to handle there sexually mature bodies in a mature way, the handle them in an immature and sinful way.

Unfortunately, this doesn't end with sex, but is just the beginning. It pours over into drugs, violence, disrespect, and all types of sin.

I don't know that it's a cure, but one thing that would certainly help our youth is for the parents to start expecting their childrens minds to mature at the same rate as their bodies - the way that God designed it.

To me, knowledge of something has nothing to do with growing up. There are children all across the world with more knowledge than you or I - have you heard of the tv show ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER? Maturing (what I believe growing up means) occurs when they learn the proper way to handle that knowledge. Some might even call it wisdom.

So, IMO, are children aren't growing up too fast. They're growing up way too slow. And at the rate society is headed, we are soon to see the day that the official age for adulthood is changed to 25 or 30!![/quote]

:amen: :goodpost:

Unfortunately, even most professing Christians have fallen for the modernistic, humanistic and even the socialistic practices that promote extended childhood, the shunning of maturity, the so-called 'generation gaps', the break-down of families, etc.

My own dad dropped out of school at age 13 or 14 and went to work full-time. He worked from that time until he was 62 and he retired so he could take care of my ailing mom full-time.

Anyone who has read much history at all knows how often even 12-15 year olds were going to work full-time, joining the navy or army, starting their own business or farm, etc. up until after World War Two.

Those we consider to be children, and treat as such, today were at one time expected to be young men and young women.

[JerryNumbers]

Is God really happy with the way man and woman has progressed things in this world?

Teaching their children education, education, education, where they can have an easy life and afford to by buy their needs and wants. I know many who have done that, few of their children have stayed in Jesus' Churches, most become very worldly in all their ways.

[futurehope]

Is God really happy with the way man and woman has progressed things in this world?

Teaching their children education, education, education, where they can have an easy life and afford to by buy their needs and wants. I know many who have done that, few of their children have stayed in Jesus' Churches, most become very worldly in all their ways.

No, I don't believe God is pleased at all with the progression of things. That being said, that means prophecy is being fulfilled.

The worst part is, our children are being pushed towards education of worldly knowledge and less and less towards Godly, Biblical knowledge. Kids are taught to get out on their own or go to college and get a job to support themselves. Many of the trades are all but gone as they were once known. Very few fathers teach their sons their trade and get them started in it. And they do it all with the excuse of "I want better for my kids than I had." Is there any wonder why we are in such a materialistic era. "Better" is a matter of the physical to most of the world today.

Yes, we need to return to the way God designed the family unit to work and train our children up in the love and respect for God and His word and the hate of the sin of this lost and dying world. Teach them to stand on a firm foundation and not to be tossed around in this world where more is better. Teach them to love to live the simple life for God.

[JerryNumbers]

In reality many parents have sacrificed their children to the prince of this world.

Having money to buy all of your needs and wants, having a worldly education, easy life, not having to work hard, does not equal a better life, neither does it equal a godly family.

Many of us parents who have children who have gone astray, blame it on our children, when in reality we did not teach them how important God actually is, but we taught them how important it was to live like the world.

[blossom]

I have just read through this thread. There have been many interesting points made. I have two small boys and have been really struggling on the right way to raise them. I grew up in a good but non-christian home. It always suprises me how many of the worldly views ( absolute importance of an academic education for example) have remained in my thinking. It is very difficult changing thought patterns when you don't realise they are not actually in line with the bible.

I recently read "Created for Work" and "Boyhood to Manhood" I forget the authors name. He made some really good points that line up with what Futurehope pointed out. Right or wrong I use to really worry about what my boys would do to support a family. In my mind they needed a good job to support their families. In the book he deals with the topic really well. I don't want to misquote him but it helped me a lot.

I've had my boys working a lot more around home and they really enjoy it. A big struggle is unsaved family and the influence they have, we also have unsaved friends. It is hard drawing the line between witnessing to the unsaved and keeping your children from unwanted influences.

More than growing up too quick or too slow the focus of kids is just plain out of whack with what God designed and intended us to be.

I'm very passionate about issues surrounding kids, after all the Lord blesses us with them but they still belong to the Lord.

Just my :2cents worth!

[John81]

It's a shame when Christian parents send their children off to ungodly public schools to be immersed in the ways of the world and influenced by the devil. It's no wonder about 90% of children of Christian parents leave the church after high school.

One recent survey shows that only about 4% of those 30 or younger in America are true, biblical, Christians.

[futurehope]

It's a shame when Christian parents send their children off to ungodly public schools to be immersed in the ways of the world and influenced by the devil. It's no wonder about 90% of children of Christian parents leave the church after high school.

One recent survey shows that only about 4% of those 30 or younger in America are true, biblical, Christians.

The saddest part of it is that I heard a study years ago that said that after 14 years old the chances of someone getting save was down to like 25% and it dropped to like 10% after 25 years old. It is so important that our children learn AT HOME from Godly parents. It really is an eternal matter.

[Guest Guest]

It's a shame when Christian parents send their children off to ungodly public schools to be immersed in the ways of the world and influenced by the devil. It's no wonder about 90% of children of Christian parents leave the church after high school.

One recent survey shows that only about 4% of those 30 or younger in America are true, biblical, Christians.

...Wow. That's scary.
I truly am blessed to have been homeschooled since I went into the first grade.
God bless,
Crushmaster.

[no name joe]

All the public schools in my town are very, very good. So my dauther will be going there. If I lived in a large city with all of the problems, then it would be private school, but no complaints about public schools where I live.

[HappyChristian]

All the public schools in my town are very' date=' very good. So my dauther will be going there. If I lived in a large city with all of the problems, then it would be private school, but no complaints about public schools where I live.[/quote']
You're fortunate, kind! We live in a relatively small town and the school system is not good at all. Even if they were academically sound, some of the stuff they teach is bad.

We were able to homeschool our son through 5th grade. It was a wonderful experience. Then, we put him in the school our church had. The academics are outstanding, and the continued character training and Biblical instruction really cemented what we wanted him taught.

[deafnva77]

depending what you think "good" is. My sister who live in Northern VA is a liberal and she thinks the schooling there are good.. but mostly because of the liberal teaching. That's her idea of good education.

[no name joe]

I recognize that I am fortunate. I grew up in a place where public schools were not good. I was homeschooled and sent to private school. I would not trade that for anything. But where I live now, there are 4 school districts....all but one provides very good education. It is so good that there is only one private school here, and it is sadly struggling. Our local high school was named in the top 20 public high schools in the nation. So, I'm very happy.

[HappyChristian]

Glad to hear that there are still some good public schools around!

[Guest Guest]

All the public schools in my town are very' date=' very good. So my dauther will be going there. If I lived in a large city with all of the problems, then it would be private school, but no complaints about public schools where I live.[/quote']


Me, too Kind. My son is growing up in the same public school system as I did, and my hubby. Actually, his dad went here, too, before being shipped off to private school in the 1960's. We have no complaints, either. In fact, many of his teachers are Christian. Although, Christianity isn't taught in the public school system...these teachers "sure" shine. I can say that it is quite the opposite where I live. Yes...we are blessed. And, the school system isn't even in the Bible Belt of the nation.