Article: MYSTERIES (Dr James Dobson)
A page in the diary "Accept, Adapt and Appreciate: How?"
Written by nw4m Sep 6 2007 10:53 AM
From TODAY, Thursday, 06 September 2007.
A very puzzled mother asked me: “Why is it that some kids with every advantage and opportunity seem to turn out bad; while others raised in terrible homes become pillars of the community?”
I stood there nodding my head as this mother went on to tell stories of neglectful, couldn’t-care-less parents
who somehow raised model citizens. I could have cited a number of examples myself.
The fact is, environment simply doesn’t account for everything. There’s something else within us that makes us who we are. Some behaviour is caused and some plainly isn’t.
Remember that the same boiling water that softens the carrot also hardens the egg. Likewise, some youngsters react positively to certain circumstances while
others react negatively. We don’t know why.
So remember this: Children are more than the sum total of their experiences. They’re more than the product of their nutrition, or even their genetic inheritance.
They are certainly more than their parents’ influence.
They are uniquely crafted individuals,capable of independent and rational thought that’s not attributable to any source; that’s what makes them human and that’s also what makes the task of parenting so challenging but also so rewarding.
We don’t need to take all the blame, but neither
should we take the full credit.