Reflection 8

I believe that our parents are the people that influence us the most growing up. Whether or not we agree with them, in the end there is always that one lesson or that one saying that we take from them. Our parents are the ones who give us the foundation to teach us values; the difference between what is right and what is wrong. I come from a very interesting household. Growing up I really did not notice the difference between the way my mother and father viewed things because as a child, parents tend to teach their children about manners and how to be respectful toward the elders. Once in my adolescent stage, I began to notice. My father is a very liberal man and my mother is quite the conservative. My father is an atheist while my mother is extremely Christian who attends church every Sunday. Religion and Political discussions tend to get very heated in my house. My mother always told me that she came from a very old fashion home. When a man is trying to date you there are certain things that should be waited until marriage whereas my father would just tell my sisters and I to be careful. A child can grow up to be very confused in such a house because since their parents cannot see eye to eye they don’t know which one is right. I for one am thankful to my parents. I feel lucky because I learned a lot more this way and I was taught to believe what I thought was best for me. Nowadays, children often refer to the media to learn about things that parents should be teaching them. Because of this, children are growing up too fast. I see it every day when I go into work and I hear children who only eight years old are talking about sex and things they are completely oblivious to. Children need to have guidance and need to have things explain to them otherwise they grow up un-educated and misinformed. However, there is only so much a parent can do for their children and the rest is up to them. Parents can buy their daughters dolls and their sons toy trucks but that won’t ensure the sexual preference of a child. I have a friend who as a young boy would always take his younger sisters dolls and when the mother began to notice at first tried to convince him to play with his toys but in the end she let him play with the dolls. She just wanted him to be happy which at the end of the day I believe is what the parent should want for their children.