South Carolina senator, Lindsey Graham, seems to be one of those brave men we love here at WOW who isn’t afraid to take a stand for protecting children. S-3398 “Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2020” or the “EARN IT Act of 2020” is being championed by her in the senate at US Capitol this summer.
Some people are critical of the EARN It Act of 2020 because they say it takes away important internet freedoms. WOW understands that perspective and has never been in favor of censoring or controlling people or taking rights away. In fact, we have vocally be in full support of all legal rights owed to citizens of the United States.
However, WOW fully acknowledges that while adults should have full internet freedoms, children should not. We know so much about the brain these days. Developmentally, children aren’t prepared to self-govern their choices fully until they are at the very least 18. Many brain experts are saying the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, that does all the logical problem solving for the person, isn’t fully developed until the person is between the ages of 18 and 26 years old now.
An undeveloped child brain is not capable of full discernment and can be too easily groomed (or led by others) to crave certain behaviors or have certain ideas. Also, chemically child brains are even more prone to addiction than adult brains. Dr. Jen Brown explains in this video.
The EARN IT Act of 2020 establishes a national commission on online child sexual exploitation prevention. This commission will, “develop recommended best practices that providers of interactive computer services may choose to implement to prevent, reduce, and respond to the online sexual exploitation of children, including the enticement, grooming, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse of children and the proliferation of online child sexual abuse material.”
This commission is a very positive move for the United States to make. So many children are sexually exploited in the Untied States through sources that are marketed as safe or are deceiving children every day like school and library databases. This act will take steps to protect some of the most vulnerable among us, the children!
The only reason WOW sees for this act not to be adopted is if adults in leadership in our country think children should be exploited, trafficked, and sexually violated by digital purveyors and businesses. We call upon all responsible citizens to reach out to their senators and representatives at the United States capitol to ask them to support the EARN IT Act of 2020. We must save the children!
The following act recently passed in UK legalizes the following:
A Justice of the Peace [henceforth JP] or other person deemed fit by the Local Authority has the power to remove a person, child or possession if they are believed to have been contaminated, had contact with a contaminated person or are at risk of contamination. There is no conclusive test available for Covid-19 because the virus itself has never been isolated. The person, once under the order of the Local Authority, no longer has their Common Law rights under Habeus Corpus. They can be detained for an indefinite period in a State facility and forced to undergo training sessions.
A “thing”, as it is written in the Law, can be seized, destroyed, decontaminated or retained by the State for an indefinite period. Please note the vague terminology. This could relate to a house, car, cash, pets, heirlooms, land – anything which is deemed to have been in contact with a source of contamination or suspected contamination.
A child can be taken into the custody of the Local Authority and forcibly removed, treated or detained.
It should also be noted that medical practitioners, Social Care Workers (who are not qualified Social Workers but any person who has been deemed fit by the local authority) have legal indemnity for their actions and cannot be sued or prosecuted for misdiagnosis, maltreatment or any other action as listed in the Act above.
“45 G
(1) a-d: A JP has the power to determine whether or not a person is, may be, has been infected, or if they pose a threat because they may have associated with an infected person. The Act does not require a medical diagnosis by a qualified medical practitioner.
(2) a-k: Having determined the above, the JP can compel the person to submit to medical examination, be detained in a hospital or other suitable establishment (not specified), wear protective clothing, attend “training or advice” sessions, cease work, employment or trading and answer questions regarding their whereabouts and associates. Note that the person is to be detained and not arrested, therefore they do not have their Common Law rights whilst under arrest.
(3) a-d: The JP may make this order if the person is contaminated, has been contaminated, may have contaminated others or may pose a threat of contamination to others.
(4) The person can be compelled to reveal information about themselves or a related party.
(6) c: A person with parental responsibility can be compelled to submit their child to any of the above and may not refuse treatment.
45 H
(1) a-d: As above a JP has the power to determine whether or not a person is, may be, has been infected, or if they pose a threat because they may have associated with an infected person. The Act does not require a medical diagnosis by a qualified medical practitioner.
(2) a-e: A JP can seize the property (written into the Law as “thing”) of any person who meets the above criteria and order that it be confiscated, removed, decontaminated or destroyed.
(4) a-b: They may also require that a person who has had contact with the thing answer questions regarding the identity of anyone who may have had contact with it.”
In December of 1989, the UN General Assembly Declared the International Year of the Family. The declaration came as the UN’s awareness and interest in the family developed during the 1980’s, and by 1989 the inclusion of families in the developmental process had officially been initiated. In 1993, the General Assembly set aside May 15, to be observed annually as International Day of Families.
2015 was historic for the family, Worldwide Organization for Women and other organizations who advocate for families. The UN Human Rights Council adopted an unprecedented “Protection of the Family” resolution. 2020 marks the 5 year anniversary of this document. Two important statements reaffirm:
…the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and state.
...the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection
Strengthening families is at the heart of WOW’s mission and work.
The Worldwide Organization for Women [WOW] has been going to the United Nations CSW [Conference on the Status of Women] conference for many years. But this year we are meeting with the unexpected. The CSW conference, that is as predictable as the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade, has decide to cancel.
The CSW official statement released March 2, 2020 said, “Following the UN Secretary-General’s recommendation to Member States to amend the format of the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in light of the current concerns regarding coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an informal meeting took place today. The Commission decided that the 64th session of the Commission will convene on 9 March, at 10.00 a.m. (EST), for a procedural meeting. The meeting will include opening statements, followed by the adoption of the draft Political Declaration and action on any other draft resolutions. The session will then suspend until further notification. No general debate will take place and all side events planned by Member States and the UN system in conjunction with CSW 64 will be cancelled.”
So, not only has this new coronavirus been able to reroute cruise ships and stop flights to certain parts of Asia, it has now stopped scheduled global conferences.
WOW thinks it’s wise for the UN to cancel CSW this year, even though we are aware that this cancellation is a hardship for many people who were traveling from around the world to New York City to attend.
This year was a big year for CSW because it was the 25th anniversary for the UN Beijing conference which provided a critical step forward for the protection of rights and the acknowledgement of the value of the family unit in societies.
WOW had a great parallel event planned to remember Beijing and to point out where societies can still improve, or have missed the mark, but we will have to wait to see if this event will now happen at a future time.
Wherever you happen to be in the world, take precautions to keep your family safe during the end of this sickness season.
This piece about how British liberties are being systematically taken from families was contributed by British WOW members.
For the last few days, we in the UK have had a reprieve from the Great Brexit Betrayal, as our Parliament of Traitors has gone into recess, in order for our MPs to enjoy their party conference season: a time when politicians and their party members retire to the seaside, congratulate themselves on a job well done and scheme for the reopening of Parliament in a few weeks’ time. And, oh, hasn’t it given us some laughs? A cursory glance at Twitter will show just about anyone how hilarious it has been – how the country’s conservatives (with the notably small “c”) have chuckled at the Labour Party, in particular, and their folly. “What larks, Pip”, they giggle. “What larks!”
We have seen, for example, Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Minister, standing on a podium before her party delegates, addressing them all as “comrades” and regaling them all with tales of her youthful dalliances. With a wink and a nod reminiscent of Hattie Jacques in the old Carry On films, the venerable Ms. Thornberry told the packed room that, as she was lying with her head in a gutter following an accident, her life flashing before her eyes, she thought: “Blimey, that was fun … and it wasn’t running through fields of wheat, comrades!” The compliant BBC dutifully let the camera pan the room, showing how the audience laughed …Oooh, Matron! Saucy! All the while, conservative Twitter shook their heads and collectively smirked at her silliness. What larks!
Then there was the risible Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary, butt of a thousand memes and alumnus, no doubt, of the same School of Mythical Economics as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, cheerfully informing a BBC reporter that, despite having sent her own child to a fee-paying school, she nevertheless supported the Labour Party’s proposals to “abolish” private schools and “integrate” their wealth into the State Education system…
… and it is here, I am afraid, that the laughs began to die down. Just a few short months ago, this suggestion was being floated by a handful of backbench MPs, whilst the country’s middle classes smiled and thought that such a thing could never, really, happen. Surely nobody could seriously believe that the long arm of the State would reach into the privately-owned property of independent schools and appropriate their wealth, to redistribute it as they see fit? No, certainly not. To remove parental choice from hardworking mothers and fathers who go without, in order to give their children the very best start they can afford? Never.
Yet, here we are. In Britain now, our Opposition Party openly states that it intends not only to prevent parents from choosing the best school for their child but, moreover, to repossess the finances of those schools (which are only slightly less constrained by The National Curriculum – something similar to the American Common Core) and redistribute them into State Education. Naturally, there is one, very notable exception: as pointed out by redoubtable journalist and conservative talking head, Katie Hopkins, this plan does not, of course, apply to the many taxpayer-funded Islamic schools which have sprung up across the nation in recent years.
In this country, The National Curriculum “sets out the programmes of study and attainment targets for all subjects at all 4 key stages” and “all local-authority-maintained schools must teach these programmes of study.” https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum. There is no room for manoeuvre and all teachers must adhere to it. But what of its content?
Recently, a friend and home-schooling parent drew my attention to a Key Stage 2 reading comprehension assignment which she had discovered in the National Curriculum English handbook. Focusing on the children’s story Bill’s New Frock by Anne Fine, the tasks are designed to “make children aware of gender inequality” and ask them to “imagine waking to discover that they are a different gender.” All very worthy, I am sure you will agree.
The same Labour Party that wishes to remove parents’ choices when it comes to independent schools has also put forward proposals to “make climate change a core part of the curriculum” addressing “the ecological and social impact of climate change.” Irrespective of the controversy that there is no conclusive scientific evidence that manmade climate change actually exists, children are, under these proposals, to be taught its effects as undisputed fact, in order to prepare them for the “human impacts” (read “immigration”, “increased governmental control” and “higher taxation”) which will inevitably ensue, turning our youth into anxious, Children of the Corn clones of the terrifyingly totalitarian and pitifully exploited Greta Thunberg. https://www.tes.com/news/make-climate-change-core-part-curriculum-labour-says
Even more worryingly, those who question the received wisdom of manmade climate change could soon be facing legal sanctions, as was debated on 17th September on BBC Radio 2’s daily phone-in programme, The Jeremy Vine Show. At present, of course, this is only a discussion but as my earlier examples illustrate, discussion has its way of intruding into policy … and policy has a way of becoming Law.
From Cradle to Grave
The purpose of this article, however, is not solely to discuss the tenets of The National Curriculum in depth, although I may write another on this topic at a later date. Rather, as the title suggests, its intention is to explore the ways in which the long arm of the State increasingly invades the private family lives of citizens. Which leads me to a few more suggestions which have recently come to light.
Some years ago, I visited the Museum of East Germany in Berlin and saw an exhibition of the Communist Party’s pledge concerning State governance “from the cradle to the grave.” Under the guise of promoting equality for mothers, babies were taken into State-run childcare at a few months old, in order that both parents could quickly return to work. They then stayed in government facilities until the end of their formal education, ensuring, of course, that their indoctrination could be absolute and that they would not encounter dissenting opinions which opposed those of the Communist Party. It should come as a surprise to absolutely no-one, then, that similar ideas are now being discussed in Britain, where debates are taking place regarding longer school days, increased childcare, shorter school holidays and the free provision of breakfast, lunch and dinner – all at the taxpayer’s expense and all designed to ensure that parents’ working days are uninterrupted and that their children’s daily care is provided by professionals, rather than their own loving family. Why run the risk of allowing parents to promote dissenting opinions, when the State can raise a child so much better? Similarly, the Media’s insidious drip-feeding of anti-home-schooling programmes and articles which imply that only dangerous cranks and oddballs would remove their children from the school system, just as the practice is becoming more popular, can be seen as part of the same process: “trust us”, says the State, “we know what is best for your family”. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/home-schooling-department-education-damian-hinds-radicailation-illegal-schools-offrolling-a8849841.html
“Surely this is enough?” I hear you cry. “Surely there can be no more? Surely it will suffice, at least for now, to propose the removal of parents’ school choices, to indoctrinate their children with uncorroborated pseudoscience, to propose the care of their children from morning to night and to demonise those who opt-out of the educational system?” Well, not quite – because the socialist Scottish National Party went one step further still and put forth a proposal to allocate a “named person” for every child in Scotland, to monitor family life, provide a point of contact outside of the home and to ensure that no child is being exposed to ideas or practices which dissent from the ideological aims of the Scottish Government. Mercifully, the plan has been revoked – at least for the time being – as parents argued that it amounted to nothing more than a “Snoopers’ Charter”, terrifyingly reminiscent of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eight-Four – but the proposal was made and, as we have already seen, proposals do have a tendency to wend their ways into legislation … eventually. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35752756
Be Warned
So why am I telling you all of this? Well, firstly, I am giving you a warning.
To my American friends: we in the UK have become so accustomed to Government interference that many people now passively accept this growing encroachment upon our private lives; that which seemed impossible just a few short years ago is now being openly discussed at party political conferences and proposed as legislation. Whilst all of this may sound outlandish to you now, please bear in mind that it did once to us, too – but the gradual drip-feeding of these notions has already begun in the USA, where States like California have shoehorned the LGBT agenda into the school curriculum and proposed making ethnic studies mandatory.
Secondly, to my fellow Britons: this has to stop. There is no end to the incursions which the State will make upon our family lives – no proposal will be too extreme, no interference too great. The long march through the institutions began many years ago – it will not cease; it knows no bounds. If we do not wrest back control of our family lives now – right now – it will be too late. As the silent majority of the country sit back and shake their heads, tittering at the folly of the likes of Abbott and Thornbury, they miss the vital point: the conservatives are losing, the Right is losing … unless we fight for our children now, we will very soon have lost. The hand is hovering over the cradle: don’t let it rule the world.
WOW has always been dedicated to strengthening families to improve life for children and future generations. This past August at the UN Civil Society conference in Salt Lake City, WOW presented a session called “Cultural Parenting Revolution for a Socially Sustainable Future”.
If our future generations don’t feel empowered enough to control themselves they will always be in bondage to their behaviors and mistakes. What issues are facing children today? We are witnessing suicide, depression, disconnection, addiction, dissatisfaction with life, poor communication skills, fractured relationships, feelings of victimhood, and being overwhelmed.
As with any social problem, children’s issues are created by multiple problems. But, one thing social science backs up is that children who have strong families have greater gains as children and adults.
This Cultural Parenting Revolution combined parenting experts Nicholeen Peck and Dr. Jennifer Jensen, who talked about intentional things parents can do to create stability and safety for their children.
This event was a great success! The room was filled and people left understanding that strong families need to be and essential part of the UN conversation on sustainable futures. Reports of excitement from multiple conference attendees that their new focus would be on strengthening families, given to WOW from other NGOs at the conference confirmed that the message WOW and Gathering Families gave about being intentional and self-governed in our family relationships really hit home.
As a side note, WOW also collaborated with NAFFA, Native American Families and Fatherhood Association, for another event dedicated to honoring women and girls. WOW focused on the programs it is doing in Africa to help women and girls sustain their families and provide for children.
Mid March is when WOW and WOW Africa join in New York City with other faith and family NGO groups to stand up for women (including mothers), children, and families at the Commission on the Status of Women, CSW.
This year WOW sponsored an event, featuring a very diverse panel of women leaders from around the world to address different ways women and girls can find happiness amidst the pressures and challenges they face during day-to-day living.
We had a powerful panel of speakers, including a representative of Her Excellency, Dr. Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano, Wife of the Executive Governor Anambra State. Founder and Initiator Caring Family Enhancement Initiative CAFE who spoke about the various programs CAFE provides for the Nigerian state Anambra. These programs empower the citizens by encouraging higher education, community service, and a higher standard of living.
As well as our honored guest, WOW was also pleased to have WOW treasurer and UN Liason, Yvonne Averett address the formal and informal social structures societies need to promote happiness and social sustainability among their people.
Following Yvonne, Amaka Akudinobi, an attorney who practices law in California and Nigeria, a leader in the WOW Africa organization, and a mother and wife, spoke about empowering local citizens through government freedoms to strengthen their governments and families.
Next Nicholeen Peck, president of WOW, spoke about the roles the family and moral standards have in promoting personal freedom and happiness. She emphasized the power a person has to choose how they want to live and how they want to feel and explained the peace that comes when a person chooses to live a life dedicated to standards such as honesty and taking responsibility. A free guide was provided as a resource for attendees and the young people they serve in their various communities.
Finally, Amy Fa’ataofe, Executive Director NAFFA, Native American Fatherhood and Family Association, spoke about the programs NAFFA provides for Native American communities around the United States. They help rehabilitate families who have been traumatized due to incarceration and trauma and give program participants an increased desire to take responsibility for their family happiness and roles in the family.
Finally, at the end of the panel presentations the event concluded with a brief question and answer session where multiple questions were asked about how to be happy when a severe trauma, such as the death of a child, which one woman was facing, occurs. There were tears of love as panel members explained how they had made it through similar situations and how powerful it is to turn to God in such times. Another woman asked why WOW doesn’t focus on single parents in the presentation. WOW explained that we understand there are many situations that are not ideal, but that we simply didn’t have time in the one hour presentation to address all different family dynamics. Discussing the struggles single parents have is a great topic for it’s own parallel event.
As always, there were some angry groups of people who try to oppose any family advocacy that occurs relating to events or the outcome document at the UN. At the WOW event there were a few young women who voiced their disapproval of WOW’s lack of LGBT emphasis in our program. We calmly explained that WOW is for all women and doesn’t purposefully seek out women based on their sexual choices. These same young women also felt our organization wasn’t focused enough on the youth. This was interesting to us, because a special youth group or youth leadership in an organization doesn’t necessarily make an organization wiser or better. We pointed out however, that we did have a group of WOW youth at the UN with us in our event even though they weren’t on the panel, and it seemed to take the wind out of their sails. These girls also had a hard time with a statement WOW made on a brochure about how it is proven that children are happier and show greater gains when they know both their mother and father.
Despite this slight bit of opposition, which seemed to be an effort to look for what we didn’t have that they wanted instead of what we did have that was wrong, WOW had a very productive year at CSW. We participated in multiple events through discussion, and did a lot of networking, education, and advocacy work. And, we are already working on our CSW events and plans for next year.
Your donations to WOW help us go to UN conferences and provide free resources for the world leaders we try to help and influence. Thank you for helping us. We couldn’t do the work we do without you. Donate how ever much you can spare here. https://worldwideorganizationforwomen.org/product/donate/
2018 started out with the WOW team fighting to protect life by meeting with many legislators to help them see that babies shouldn’t be discriminated against just because they have Down’s Syndrome. We also successfully stopped an attempt by lawmakers to institute Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Utah schools. Our Utah legislative team was happy to have Kursten Mason back as the Utah Legislative liaison for the WOW organization.
The Worldwide Organization for Women is growing! This year we brought many new team members into the WOW organization. Tepoerava Ka’Aumoana, probably the happiest Tahitian woman I’ve ever met, joined us as our head of WOW communications. This was a much needed post to fill, and WOW really enjoys working with her.
We also brought on Klarrissa Newman as a WOW chapter mentor. Klarissa is expanding our chapter reach in an effort to inform and empower more women around the globe.
We have also invited Jenipher Otieno, a professor from Nairobi, Kenya, to be part of the WOW organization. She is the new head of fundraising. Not only does Jenipher teach others how to fundraise, but has been helping families in Kenya for many many years as the head of the Family Resource Center there. We are so happy to have her wisdom and experience with our team.
Early on in the year WOW found out that our website had been hacked and damaged. It was beyond repair, so we had to fund the creation of a new website yet again, this time with heightened security. It is a sign that we are doing good things when malicious people go out of their way to try to stop us from doing our work. It was just one more confirmation that the work we are doing to strengthen families and protect women and children is very needed.
At the annual Conference on the Status of Women [CSW] at the United Nations, WOW presented about the importance of protecting religious liberties for women, nurturing basic life skills in girls and women in order to be more self-sustaining, and the importance of honoring mothers.
Our president, Nicholeen Peck, was instrumental in writing the Global Declaration of Mothers that was first released at the United Nations this year. This collaborative document acknowledges and empowers mothers all over the world.
In New York, the WOW organization spoke at a rally protesting UNICEF’s acceptance of and promotion of graphic sexual education to children around the world. The fight to protect the children from industrial sexualization is an on going fight for our organization.
Our president spoke to over 20,000 parents this year about how to improve family relationships and overall peace.
The KCCB [Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops] invited Nicholeen to speak for the Humane Vitae Golden Jubilee Celebration in Nairobi, Kenya. The celebration was all about protecting lives. The conference asked Nicholeen to address improving family relationships as well. Her talk was called The Family is the Key to the Success of the Humane Vitae.
While in Kenya, Nicholeen also spoke to a grass roots group of homeschooling parents who are trying to create strong families despite the troubles they face in society. She also made a special radio appearance for the Catholic radio station in the area.
While there, Nicholeen also did a some special presentations for the members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Nairobi area. Here is an excerpt from on of her talks.
Carol Ugochukwu, the president of WOW Africa, and her daughter Amaka, continue to serve the women, girls and families of Nigeria. They have had multiple activities to teach and benefit the people there. More information about these activities is included in a separate article.
WOW participated in the Protect Child Health Coalition conference in Omaha, Nebraska this fall. And, we maintained our partnership with the World Congress of Families, a global force calling for protection of the family and family values.
WOW exposed an international database scandal to the state of Utah and got the UEN [Utah Education Network] to take action to remove the content in the EBSCO database that was inappropriate for children. Here is a link to the news story done about this scandal.
Sadly, despite the great effort of the UEN the databases were not cleaned good enough by EBSCO and the work to clean up the Utah databases at libraries and schools is still ongoing. But, WOW is working very hard to inform people and get the problem resolved in order to protect Utah children.
WOW was asked to participate at the annual NAFFA [Native American Fatherhood and Families Association] convention, in Arizona, about strengthening family relationships and improving family communications.
WOW chapter meetings are continuing to happen, while more women are showing interest in starting WOW chapters in their areas.
Finally, WOW was honored to be asked to become the lead organization for the Empowered Families Coalition this year. The coalition is dedicated to advocating for families through the legislative process and through the education of leaders and families. This position will last for one year.
We Need Your Help!
WOW does so many things each year. But, we aren’t able to all we are asked to do because we don’t have enough funds to make it happen. Each member of the WOW board personally funds the majority of projects WOW is engaged in. We love the work, but can each only give so much out of our household budgets each year.
We need you! This year, 2019, we have already been invited to speak at the United Nations again, to speak at the World Congress in Italy, and to educate families and leaders in Benin and Nigeria. We simply cannot afford all these expenses alone.
If you believe in the work WOW is doing and are grateful to the time the WOW board gives without any recompense, then please help us continue this sacred work by making a donation to this mission to protect women and children by strengthening the family and society.
If you live in the Utah area please join us for a “March for Life” Event at the state capital. We will begin at Washington Square (451 South State Street, Salt Lake City) We will walk to the capital. This is an important event to help in our efforts to support Life here in our state. Bring a donation of diapers for the Pregnancy Resource Center. Dr. Kathi Aultman is speaking and we will also be joined by U.S. Congress Woman Representative Mia Love.
For more information go to March4LifeUtah.org
The event is this Saturday January 20, 2018 and starts at 11:00 am although if you would like to go early and help volunteer for set up we need volunteers to help. E-Mail Deanna Holland ([email protected]) if you can help with this. We would love to see support for this event from our W.O.W. members.
There is an international parent/child bonding problem. The world has never seen a global lack of parent/child attachment like this before. Of course, there are factors leading to this detachment, factors that the world has also never seen before. Are we experimenting on our families and children and calling it good leadership? Have we given up our roles in the family for social conformity, loss of identity, and cluelessness?
I know I’m not going to win many points with diligent, loving parents by calling them clueless. I’m not intending to be mean, but every day I see video after video that laughs at what parents don’t know. Comedians and YouTubers have never-ending fodder for their acts if parenting is continually equal to a joke. If parents are overly tough, people will laugh. If parents are passive, people will laugh. If parents are worn out and have attitude problems, people will laugh. Why do they laugh?
In the case of comedy acts, GIFS, or online videos, people laugh to fit in socially. They also laugh at comedy like this because they’re allowed into a shared joke. It’s like someone finally told the truth, or inside joke, to the whole room or online world, and everyone listening or watching felt like someone finally got it and allowed them to laugh at it at the same time. They both act like they finally met someone who had the same joke they were hiding inside.
This analysis of why people are only laughing at parenting nowadays doesn’t mean I don’t have a sense of humor. I like a good laugh too. But, the fact that the sarcasm and promotion of parental cluelessness far outweighs the promotion of good, confident parenting is a sad sign for the future of our families and our personal happiness.
Gender Listening Session
Quite by surprise I was asked to consult the U.S. State Department at what they called a “Gender Listening Session.” This session was dedicated to empowering women and girls. As I listened to the other leaders of women’s and girls’ charities and initiatives, as well as leaders in our country, I noticed that I seemed to be the one voice advocating that strengthening the family can create empowerment, safety, and economic stability worldwide.
Each group attending works with people worldwide. These people they work with come from various ethnic, cultural, religious, and economic backgrounds. Some of the problems, like sex-trafficking and sexual crimes against women, were seen in all countries discussed. We all agreed that these problems were of universal concern to all present. But, the ideas for solving these problems varied. Some organizations suggested giving women and girls more access to media and sexual services. Some groups were looking for strategies on how to get more women to be activists for equality so that they can feel empowered. But, I guess I saw things a bit different.
“What is the root problem and the root solution?” I kept asking myself. “Can money, programs, and activism really make women and girls of all countries happy and safe?”
No way. Safety comes from good leadership and self-confidence. Where does a person get these things organically? In the family. Who loves a girl more than her family? Who will risk more for a woman than her family? Who will support her more?
Young girls need a support system. The proven, best support system for them is their families. In almost every case, no one loves the girl like her family. No program or organization can ever replace a family full of love and understanding, as opposed to broad calculations and assumptions. We need to empower girls to turn to their families for learning and support instead of turning to the unfeeling, selfish media voices they’re inundated with.
Recommendations to the U.S. State Department
What is destroying the family bonding that women and girls so drastically need for happy, productive living? Here are the five reasons I gave:
1. Instead of bonding to their family, they’re bonding to social media and the online world, including games. Women, girls, men, boys, and even babies are looking at digital devices more than conversing with each other. They’re sadly lacking attention from their family, nor are they giving their family attention.
2. They don’t know who they really are. What is a woman? What is a mother? What is a daughter? Understanding family roles is vital to the confidence and success of any person.
3. Parents don’t teach their children enough. If parents don’t constantly teach and correct their children, the child sees themselves as the parent. This creates entitlement and lack of respect, which ruins the leadership roles and function of the family relationships.
4. Parents lack skills for good parenting. Why didn’t parents prior to World War II seem so clueless about parenting? Between then and now we put the delights of the child as the center of the home culture. This is a problem. The parent should always be the center and leader of the home culture. They decide what is most important. Parents are the ones to give instruction and “No” answers. Parents don’t know how to do these simple things, and children aren’t being taught how to follow instructions and accept the “No” answers, among other vital skills. When parents have skills for family problem solving, they exude confidence and secure the respect of their children. Children really want to respect their parents. If the child is the center or boss of the family, then all the family bonds are destroyed.
5. Mothers don’t see themselves as economic engines in society. There is no more vital product a country turns out than its citizens. Child rearing is a cottage industry done best by a mother, who was literally given the life of her child to mold. Motherhood is becoming an after-hours hobby instead of a vital social role. It must come first, even if mothers are also involved in a career.
True Leadership for Today’s Families
These are the reasons family bonding is damaged. And, the solution to these problems are in the problems themselves. Good parents control media usage for themselves and their children, take time to make sure roles are understood and respected, lead children by teaching and correcting them constantly, learn the skills they need for parent confidence, and see the product of their parenting as the most valuable contribution a family can make to a society or nation.
The strength of a nation runs right through the very fiber of its people, down to the last town, family and heart. Leadership is built into a social fabric. The family structure required to create a child also provides leaders for each child. False, misguided or clueless leaders will produce weak people. Likewise, a leader who is wise, confident and attentive to the environment they control will instill maturity, wisdom and self-mastery in the hearts of their children. These children will speak truth to the world because their parents, who were safe and good, trusted them with the truths they needed for success that only a family environment can provide.
Learn more about teaching your children self-government here.
