bbcovert@juno.com

The very nature of homeschooling – being with our children all day – gives us the unique opportunity to address the world’s values and attitudes to which they have been exposed. Except for any time they spend outdoors with neighbor children or at friends’ homes, we are aware of the ideas being presented to our kids; we can have meaningful discussions about those values that are wrong.

Take the TV commercials being made today. Have you noticed how many portray deceit as cute behavior? In one, a husband hides behind a window shade to eat his wife’s missing meal after claiming that he hasn’t seen it. When she finds him finishing off her lunch, he gives her a "gotta love me" grin! In another, a boy tricks his parents into taking him to a pizza and game parlor; when they discover his deception, their faces take on an "isn’t he clever!" expression as he beams at them! In another one, an adult is offered one sample of a food item; after taking one, the greedy person snatches the rest of the food and runs! Since we only watch one to two hours of television a day – mostly programs for children – and we see many commercials implying that deceitfulness is clever and amusing, that idea must be rampant, and we must address it. We turn it into a lesson in values.

Every time those commercials appear, I remind my children of the consequences of wrong behavior. Were it possible for me to be tricked into taking the kids to Cheddar’s Place*, the moment I uncovered the lie, we would be in the car headed for home and a long period of grounding. We discuss the selfish character of those who are deceitful. We talk about the "rewards" of such behavior, which are loss of trust, loss of friends, and the resulting sorrow. Children need to know that deceitfulness is not clever, nor is it cute. It is sin!

We begin each day with family devotions. It’s a great time to present spiritual truths to our young ones. There are many devotional books geared to children. Some deal specifically with the godly values we hope to instill in our young students. Since you spend most, if not all, of the day together, whatever you’ve discussed in the morning can be reinforced throughout the day as new thoughts come to you or your children!

These days, we must constantly be on guard for those ungodly influences that try to infiltrate our Christian homes. We are preparing our children for the future – not only an earthly future, but our future in eternity. May we persevere until that day!

*name changed to avoid advertising the real restaurant

Copyright 2003  Brenda B. Covert