Shelter Your Children
“You can’t shelter your children forever.”
This is a popular refrain from parents who believe that young children should be regularly exposed to the evils of our society. And they’re right, up to a point. We can’t shelter them forever. They will grow up, and need to be prepared to live in this fallen world.
But growing is a slow and delicate process, and we should absolutely shelter them for a time.
While many parents advocate for a parenting style akin to “sink or swim,” I’m here to encourage you to take a measured approach to shelter vs. exposure. One of the most pressing reasons for this is that we are witnessing a growing trend of highly sexualized children. Young children. It’s alarmingly common for children to think about sex as it pertains to them.
Children Have a Worldview. The Question Is: Who Is Shaping It?
Parents should be shaping that worldview, and deliberately. In this very modern world, this shaping should happen under the careful protection of fathers and mothers. Parents, please guard your children’s hearts. Those little hearts and minds are in your hands. They desperately need the safety and security of the home.
It’s getting harder to do, because sexual perversion is everywhere. If you haven’t already, you will meet it face-to-face in your town. Your children will likely see a commercial on television or the internet. Family and friends may even be the source.
So what is a parent to do?
Give Your Children a Biblical Worldview
The methods may differ depending on their age, but you must be intentional. Even the youngest children can learn that in the beginning, God created male and female in His own image. Boys and girls were created for a purpose. God didn’t make mistakes. But just like the serpent said to Eve in the garden, humans are still asking, “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1)
Older children can be taught from the scriptures what sexual perversion and sin are, and how clear God is on this subject. This is where regular Bible study in the home is a powerful help! God’s plan is clear and it is good, and when we read the Old and New Testaments we see that getting outside God’s plan results in destruction of the mind and the body. Some examples of this are in Genesis 18-19, Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Timothy 1:9-10.
A biblical worldview gives our children the confidence that there is a Creator, that they are not the result of random processes, and that God absolutely made them with a purpose. This instruction should be ongoing throughout childhood.
But there’s more.
Shelter Your Children from Exposure to Sin
Guard them from images on TV and internet. Be aware of what they are exposed to in your home and while among friends. Sadly, even the “friendliest” movies or streaming platforms still feature commercials that undermine the biblical family. Most major corporations now advertise with gay couples and transsexual actors.
It’s all an effort to normalize sexually perverted behavior. Just as a couple of sitcoms in the early ‘90s made homosexuality fashionable and funny to the masses, well-known corporations are now doing the same through commercials for insurance, clothing, paper plates, and prescription drugs.
It is completely okay to turn off the TV and severely limit access to online streaming. Your kids might not be like everyone else, but isn’t that the point?
Do your children’s friends have access to social media or streaming sites on their personal tablets or smartphones? Be vigilant. Sheltering your children isn’t just turning off the TV. It also involves closely monitoring their playtime with friends (yes, even Christian homeschool friends). Be on guard, and be aware that even an innocent-seeming playdate has the potential to expose young children to very adult situations.
When your teens are old enough for smart devices and social media, start slowly and with discernment. Let them learn how to wisely navigate this part of our world under the supervision and protection of loving parents! If you are not on the social media sites they are on, you may need to join. Don’t let them get smarter than you in this area, as often happens! Stay informed, stay involved, and pray for discernment.
Get Your Kids Out of Government-funded Grooming
You knew this piece was going to mention that the public school is a hotbed of normalizing and celebrating sexual perversion. But let me make this clear: it’s not just going to be a class on sex ed in 4th grade or 7th grade or high school. If you think that’s still happening, you’ve had your head in the sand. It’s a saturation.
A northjersey.com article addressing the question of whether or not parents will have the opportunity to opt their children out of the LGBT material explained that the text of the law does not include an opt-out option. “Advocates say such an option would not be practical, since the intent of the law is for lessons to be weaved in throughout the year rather than taught only as stand-alone lessons,” the article explains.
Sexual situations are regularly found in math problems, writing assignments, on posters in the hallway, and as history curriculum. You may try to opt-out of some classes, but can you oversee every subject, every text, and every lecture? Did you know that the National Sex Education Standards (Advised by board members of Planned Parenthood) are being implemented through ELA and Math? (Source)
Teachers are forced to undergo sensitivity training for trans+++ students; they are warned that such students can be who or whatever they wish, and that the parents cannot be informed; students must use correct pronouns for teachers and other students; outrageous books are found in the school libraries (this link is not for the faint of heart); school book fairs offer colorful LGBT+ books specially designed for kids; and fellow students provide a wealth of information on things some parents don’t even know. As you can see, a monthly school board meeting of concerned parents will not rescue your children.
Moms and dads, it’s completely up to you. From sexually transmitted diseases and mental scars to learning problems and future marital issues, encouraging children to fornicate and engage in perversion and debauchery has horrifying consequences that will result in life-long damage (Alex Newman – The Freedom Project Report). This is not education. It is indoctrination. It is sexual grooming. It is setting our kids up for a future of mental health issues, physical issues, and most shamefully of all, pointing kids away from God’s plan.
Jesus said, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.” (Mark 9:42)
Please don’t be offended at this message. Instead, be offended at what is happening all around you. Be offended for your children. Protect their innocence for as long as possible.
Shelter your children. They don’t need to be like the world. They need to be able to overcome the world.