Pagan Parenting to combat the violence of the world today

There are violence, crime, pain, drugs and death all around us. It has become a part of society, and we have begun the process of normalizing it into our everyday world.

The video games, music videos and songs that depict violence are unbelievable. If you are anything like me as a parent, there is a certain amount of anxiety you carry when thinking of your kids in the “real” world.

What does this have to do with Paganism? Well, it has everything to do with Paganism and living a spiritual path. We know as adults that we make different and better decisions when rooted in a spiritual path. Why do we automatically assume that kids are so different from us?

Granted, children don’t have the life skills and experiences we do. Children do not have the critical thinking skills some adults have … and notice I did say, “some.” Children are learning how to operate in the world every passing moment. Sometimes, in the world of an adult where things seem to move so fast, we forget the true path of a kid, and that path is all about learning the life skills to live and make decisions. More often than not, it is about learning to recognize choices and make better choices.

With those thoughts at the forefront of our minds, let’s go back and revisit the original thought. As humans, children and adults alike, we make different and better decisions when we are rooted in a spiritual path. By putting that concept into the proper perspective we have an opportunity to work within the now for change.

We can use today to teach our children responsibility and accountability, not by preaching but by example. Remember attraction rather than promotion, and we can always show better than we can “tell.”

Parents need to capitalize on situations that reinforce our children’s ability to embrace spiritual knowledge. Broaden their minds. Kids can never have too much knowledge or understanding of the world that is beyond this one.

There is no better time to teach our kids structure than right now. We cannot pretend that our kids will automatically understand that the world is based on rules, some real and some invisible. If we don’t provide our kids structure, how will they learn to exist in the world?

Embracing a respect for life and everything in it is a principal we want to pass on to our children. They must begin the long process of understanding that we are connected to everything, and everything is connected to us. Understanding this principle helps to take away the illusion that we are not affecting others, ourselves or the world with our attentions.

Let’s take the time to teach our kids how to think. Children are accustomed to reacting to life instead of thinking things through and evaluating consequences. This is a skill many adults didn’t learn, and they are still suffering the effects of bad choices made in the past and present.

Modeling open and honest communication with our children about life could make the difference for success in the future.. We think we can save our kids from the reality of the world, but when our kids don’t get the answers from us, they are looking for the answers from others. Sometimes, the places our kids look for answers is the last place we would wish.

Teach our kids that they create their own reality. Kids often immediately think life is horrible or unfair when things don’t go their way. We all need to understand life is hard, but I chose how I am going to deal with it or what feelings I am going to accept or adopt. How I chose to look at life will dictate how I feel about my life. There are people who have much less in life than I, and they wake up happy in the morning because they actually opened their eyes to another day. Wow, what a harsh realization of how many of us are self-centered and don’t appreciate our blessings. Guess what? We pass that along to our kids.

One of the most important coping skills kids need to develop is the understanding that we cannot control other people’s thoughts or actions. We have to learn to live in spite of the outside world. The building of coping and life skills through spiritual foundation can be invaluable to a child, especially since most children feel like their power resides in the choices of others.

With all this in mind, again, let’s look at the mission of this article. We cannot actually remove our children from the violence in the world today, because no matter how far away we move, violence is a part of our everyday life. But we can give our kids the tools to understand life in a way that doesn’t promote violence and destruction.

Let’s stop acting like it is OK that our kids are exposed to senseless violence in movies and TV. I am not promoting censorship, but our attitudes will help dictate how our children see these things. If we are acting like it is OK or “cool,” then why wouldn’t we think our kids would think the same thing?

Ask yourself with what things are you lenient that you should tighten up on and with what things should you give more freedoms? What are you teaching your children when you are not mentally and spiritually present?

Sit with yourself and a piece of paper and think of some of the discussion topics that you feel you need to start opening the lines of communication around, then just start. Start talking about the values of your faith and what is means to them. Talk about almost anything with your children to help forge the connection with you as the parent and the supporter of spiritual development. Don’t get stuck on how to do this or what to say. Sometimes it isn’t about the “how” but the “do.” And don’t forget to incorporate spirituality into almost everything.

Just imagine if all parents started doing the same.

Blessed Be!!