When I got mad today and hit my child"For his own good, " I reconciled,
and then I realized my plight...
Today, I taught my child to fight.
When interrupted by the phone,
I said, "tell them I'm not home."
And then I thought, and had to sigh...
Today I taught my child to lie.
I told the tax man what I made,
forgetting cash that was paid,
And than I blushed at this sad feat...
Today I taught my child to cheat.
I smugly copied a cassette,
To keep me from one more debt,
But now the bells of shame must peal...
Today I taught my child to steal.
Today I cursed another race,
Oh God, protect what I debase,
for now, I fear it is too late...
Today I taught my child to hate.
By my example, children learn
That I must lead in life's sojourn
In such a way they are led
By what is done and not what is said.
Today I gave my child his due
By praise for him instead of rue.
And now I have begun to guide;
Today I gave my child pride.
I now have reconciled and paid
to IRS all that I have made.
And now I know that this dear youth,
Today has learned from me the truth.
The alms I give are not for show,
And yet, this child must surely know
That charity is worth the price:
Today he saw my sacrifice.
I clasp within a warm embrace
My neighbor of another race.
The great commandment from up above.
Today I taught my child to love.
Someday my child must face alone
This fearsome undertone,
But I have blazed a sure pathway:
Today I taught my child to pray.
Isn't it sad how we forget that our children watch our every move to see how to behave. That is why our children end up just like us, they learn how to behave and interact with others through us. As parents, that is a scary thought. But as a child (teen) myself, I know just how this poem works. I do watch my parents and other adults in my life to see what is counted as acceptable behavior, because if you think about it, a parent is the closest thing to God a young child has.
Be the example, and shine with the love of Christ, and your child will do the same.
5 comments:
Hey Curly-cue! Thats a good poem. Another thing about it is that we as teens can watch our parents mistakes and learn from them. We don't necessarily turn into an exact clone of who they are. Thanks for the great blog!
Awesome. As a parent, we're always looking to protect our children, but there are some parents who those children need protecting from.
Curly-cue, I'd love to know where you get these poems, are they your's or someone elses? If they're yours you're one talented chica.
Sorry about that! I'll fix that from now on. this one in particular was anoymous, as are most of my other stories, but I haven't written any myself, just gotten inspiration from others'.
Curley-cue. I think it is great that you are seeing the incredible challenges of being a parent. It is also important to realize in your own life NOW when your behaviors are not in line with your beliefs. Fix what you can now so you will have less to apologize to your children for in the future. I especially liked that at the end of the poem the parent makes the efforts to correct their own behaviors to direct the child.
If you enjoyed this lesson, I recommend the video "Children see, Children do" on YouTube.com. A very good video that just gives a visual picture of this poem. Thanks for reading!
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