Forming Values

We are constantly bombarded by media and culture.  The average American woman is exposed to around 350 ads per day.   I know I’ve seen quite a few just today through facebook, email, driving down the road, and on a few blogs!   All of these ads are strategically designed to influence us – whether we like it or not.   The influence continues through movies & tv shows, all of them telling us how to dress, what we should look like, who to be with, etc, etc.    

Values will be formed in our kids – Are they going to be our values or the culture’s?

I recently finished reading a book by Dr. James Dobson called The Strong-Willed Child.  He devoted a section of his book to discussing the influence of the culture on our children and how important it is to teach our kids how to respond.   I don’t want my kids to just accept what the ads – or tv shows – or movies tell them they should think about themselves, about other people, and about the world they live in.

D & I have begun having intentional conversations after he watches something (even something as innocuous as Bob the Builder!)  He is even more sensitive to comments, situations, and shows than I am and is quick to find a scenario where someone said something unkind.  It delighted my heart to hear him explaining how a snippet on a show “made God sad”.

Guard their little hearts, God, and help us raise them in the way in which they should go.