Alright ladies here goes. I hope that I can convey my thoughts without sounding crazy. Lately I've been thinking about this topic (thanks to Amberly and Sarah's blogs) and what I really want to know is....how many of you have really strayed that far from what you were taught when you were younger? (Whether it was pounded into your head or you were taught by example.)
I grew up in a family that had dinner together every night. We talked about all kinds of things over dinner; politics, religion, attitude, dress, our actions, manners. One thing that my parents did right was that I didn't ever know who they liked or disliked.
Let's exclude our adolescent years and I want to know who has really strayed that far from the nest? Do you attend the same church your parents attended? Do you belong to the same political party your parents belonged to? I know that we all like to think that we are "free thinkers" but I've decided that I don't buy it. There is the scripture (Proverbs 22:16) " Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray." We could sit and argue about what is the "right way" but that's not what I'm after. I have learned that as a mother, I have the power. I am able to influence my children to know and love the things and people that I love. (Which also means that I would have the power to have them hate or dislike people if I chose to go that route.) I have seen this in other families where the parents speak of people they don't like within ear shot of the children, and guess what? The kids don't like those people either.
Now I know that my blog visitors are from different religions and different political parties but yet each of them believe/know that they are supporting the right things. I am not looking to hear why you are right. All I really want to know is.....is what you believe, what your most influential parent believed? Alright ladies let me have it, I'm very curious.
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19 comments:
Didn't stray.
I may have an opinion but I don't believe I'm all right or all wrong. Either is anybody else.
thank you for excluding the adolescent years. I like that we have that much power as parents, but it's a lot of pressure for me sometimes. these little ones are so much more impressionable than I care to realize sometimes. I don't think that I have strayed too far, either. I don't think my political beliefs line up exactly, but then again, my parents don't always line up exactly. When it comes right down to it we're all pretty close and it's all tied to the gospel. Now for the example rather than pounding it into their heads... gotta work on that one.
I forgot to say, that I have not strayed that far from my parents tree either. Right or wrong? Depends on if you ask my mom. :)
Since you made me think about it I realized that I did not stray. Wow, very interesting!
Kim, come on, you know you've strayed. You chew gum and I'm sure you've gotten up to pray before the closing song is over in Sacrament Meeting...Oh, and do you always freshen your lipstick after you eat even when Nina isn't around? I love you!!! For me, you are completely right. Pretty near all of my views, religious and political can be somehow traced back to my good parents. Lucky for me, I don't feel they were too radical. Parents absolutely effect their children's views. Its quite a responsibility we have.
Our scary one right now is our children's distaste for the Utes...for Kev and I its all in fun (with many of our dearest friends). For our children, its become an all out cat fight. We need to rain these puppies in! ;-)
Yes.
I did not stray from what my parents taught us, we have a lot of the same habits that they instilled in me. We eat dinner as a family, still go consistently to the same church etc. I hope that Brent does not mind me saying, that he did not stray from what his parents taught.....but they strayed. They no longer do what we know do. SAD!
That was confusing... but what I meant was, they strayed not Brent!
I haven't strayed. In fact, I try (I make a conscious effort) to be like them. Certainly, they made mistakes. What are they? They probably know that better than me. Our taste in fashion, foods, games, fun, etc. might be different, but those little details make us unique. I learned so much from my parents. Hopefully I will be able to do the same!!!
Similar views. Same religion, trying to raise my family with similar standards.
Probably the biggest difference might be political views (some of them) and tolerance for other's personal choices, political views, orientation, etc. I just want to teach my children to be open to the differences in the world and not to judge (someone already has that job).
My biggest thing is that we should simply be kind to everyone no matter our views or theirs.
Yes, I am sure we will be as strict as both our parents were--who knows. I wish I had it all planned out.
I haven't strayed either although sometimes I find myself wishing I could (mostly when I can feel myself doing something that I didn't like my mom doing). Truly though, I'm like Marcie and I try to figure out how to be more like them and not less. On the other hand, my husband is really different from his parents. He does still atend the same church (thank goodness) and has similar political views, but other than that he is really his own person. I sometimes wonder where he came from. :) All of this makes me feel bad for my kiddies that I'm their main example! Sad! At least they have "Mr. Perfect" for a father-there's hope!
Cody and I have had this conversation before, we aren't too far from the tree either. it is so very interesting what you find you have learned and who/what you like/dislike because of parental influence. I laugh because when I was little I would always wonder what kind of heater was in a house and if it wasn't the brand that my Dad sold then it was no bueno. Dad still teases that if he knew that Hansen's had Lennox heaters he wouldn't have let me marry cody.:) It's a silly thing but the effects can be extreme if taken too far.
I do things pretty much the same as my parents did while I was growing up. (we also had dinner together every night, and actually talked. we try to do this in our family) I attend the same church as them, but as for politics, I assume we have the same views, but my parents never really talked about them much. They are pretty conservative, as am I.
I try to stray from some of my parents way of disciplining. Although I realize that I do have a tendancy to have my Dad's temper. So, that's something I try and watch. But overall, I would rather be like them, than not. Does that answer your question?
For a long time, I did, said, and acted the same way as my parents, because that's how I grew up- that's the example they taught me. I just did it without questioning it.
As I have grown older, I have done more questioning of why I do what I do and why I believe what I believe. And I have learned to decide not just what to believe in, but to choose to believe in it.
My parents instilled in me certain beliefs, as all parents do in their children, and I now use my own personal agency to choose to live a certain way. It is because of the face that my parents instilled in me a belief system, however, that the values reflected in my choices continue to line up with theirs.
What scares me is the belief system that many parents are instilling in their children today. Children will likely follow the same belief system as their parents. So, what is being taught?
Yep, I don't think I'm too different from my parents either. There are definitely some areas where we disagree but all in all, I don't think that my beliefs are too far from theirs. I do think it's all sort of tied to the gospel like Amberly said.
Ok as I read some of these comments I am afraid to admit but yes I have strayed yes I am the only one but I felt like I needed to add my comments. Growing up in Utah for my entire life I never really understood we had a choice who we wanted for president. When I was younger I would just watch the election and see our state light up as blue. Republican was all I knew with parents and 90% of utah being republican. Then I met my husband from Boulder Co. and boy did I have an eye opening experience.Religion, politics you name it we disagreeed. He has taught my a lot. I am not saying eihter one is right or wrong. But it is nice to have an understanding of different ideas and opinions on certain things. And like I said send the missionaries our way to let him have an eye opening experience also. hehe
OK enough of this thinking stuff. I want pictures!
My answer is Yes. My parents are certainly a ginormous part of why I am the way I am...
I try to be like my mom was as I was growing up in many ways. She was always fun, and we did everything as a family. But, church was never something that was important to either of my parents, and now they couldn't be further away from it. Rated "R" movies? We all watched them together, and every once in a while one of my folks would say "kids, turn your head", and we did. I had never watched conference until I got married. I didn't even know that there was a Saturday session. When we went to church, we went with our grandparents. So, I guess I have strayed away because the Gospel is deffinitley at the center of my little family. I guess we are more like Paul's family was growing up. He hasn't strayed at all! We try to have a happy medium with our parenting because I'll tell you one thing, my parents must have done something right. I can't say a bad word about anyone in my family. We are all best friends and love each other deeply. We will NEVER stray fromeach other, that's for certain! It's sort of funny, all of my siblings are married in the temple, both my brothers served missions, and all of us are active in the church. My parents still aren't. Like I said, they must have done something right. This is very long! I'm sorry.
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