If you look at the problems facing the family and society today you will realize that the root cause is that parents have no time to look after their children or to give them love.
The first problem facing the family is the youth who are addicted to smoking, drinking. drugs etc due to bad company. The youth have fallen into bad company because the parents have no time to listen to their problems or to love them forcing the youth to look for a listening ear or for love outside the family among their friends who sometimes are a bad influence upon them and lead them into bad company. Sometimes the parents do not know even who their children’s friends are. It is shocking to note that 14 and 15 year old’s are committing suicide. What can be so earth shattering that children cannot share with their parents? But do parents have the time to listen? Do the parents have a good rapport with the children?
The second problem facing the family is the large number of people in the old age homes. Children have no time to look after their aged parents and have put them in the aged homes. But is that surprising when the children themselves have not received time and love from their parents when they were young? When you do not give time and love to your children when they are young, how can you expect it back in return when you are old? As the saying goes “As you sow so shall you reap”.
The third problem facing the family is the restriction of the size of the family to only one or two children or the delay in starting a family. Parents may have a genuine reason for doing so but if we accept that every child is a gift and a blessing from God then why are we refusing to accept the blessings of God by restricting the size of our family to only one or two children? Did you not promise God to receive children from His hands lovingly on your wedding day?
The fourth problem facing the family is divorce between the parents. When God made man he made woman to be a suitable companion for him. Only then he told them to go forth and multiply. This implies that the man and women are not complete without each other and that the child cannot be brought up by a single parent. He needs both the parents. That is the plan of God. When children are faced with the divorce of their parents it leaves a deep scar and void in their lives. They even lose faith in the institution of marriage.
The book of Sirach chapters 3 and 30 tell how children should be brought up in the eyes of God. As we celebrated Children’s Day on 14 November, let us give time and love to our children so that we can build families based on strong family values.
