"Clearly there is an appropriate kind of sheltering. When those who are opposed to homeschooling accuse me of sheltering my children, my reply is always, 'What are you going to accuse me of next, feeding and clothing them?" ~R.C. Sproul Jr
Shelter what is it anyway?? Dictionary defintion:
• to protect or sheild from storms....
• to protect from troubles....
I don't think I've been accused of this before, at least not to my face verbally. Not like the socialization one. Though back in Feb. I did post an article on my blog about this very subject. Sheltering our children. You may read it @ my Treasure Box blog We can't shelter them too much is my view. I grew up in a Christian home, went to Christian schools-elementery, HS and college. My husband on the other hand was opposite and he has many scars and regrets and things he'd wished he hadn't done. I grew up nieve not sheltered. My parents never talked to me about private matters. I want to be the one to tell my daughters about the birds and the bees not have them hear about it in some group setting or on the playground or where ever else. I know some that send their kids to public school and they say they are too 'street smart'. Most kids know far more than what they need to know. We have to live in this world til God takes us out of this world. But that doesn't mean we have to be like the world. Is there such a thing as being too cautious? I don't think so! They'll learn it soon enough. I'll tell them what I want them to know when I want them to know it. Thank-you
I don't mean we need to keep them nieve about things. But I want to be the one to give them the information not some friend that has heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend and so on. This is the way I was brought up. You didn't talk of certain things. I remember a friend one time when she was spending the night at my house discussing the matter briefly with me. I truly didn't know about the birds and the bees when I got married. My mom never talked to me about the whys or whats of my monthly. It just happened and I learned to live with it. I did things different with my girls they knew about it and when it happened I was there to guide them through and explain the whys. I wouldn't want anyone else to explain this to them. When the time is right we'll go into more detail but that is for me to decide as a parent. I decided a long time ago my girls would go to their wedding night with mom's knowledge not nieve like mom was. If sheltered is getting information to your kids when we know they are ready to handle it then more power to it. I'm all for it. Each child matures at a different rate. That's for the parent to decide. Birds and the Bees isn't all that we want to shelter our children on I was just using it as an example.
My girls are in no means isolated from the world. They see things in other teens at church. They have actually broken down and cried for those teens in our church. I dare to say that the other teens have cried for my girls. Sheltered they aren't they see it all around them. We just are teaching them to see it from God's eyeview. We are here to help them understand it.
I don't believe sheltering is bad, if done properly to train our children not only to discern right from wrong, but have the ability to choose right rather than wrong. There is an appropriate kind of sheltering as we seek to raise our children according to God’s standards of right and wrong.
This kind of sheltering as I see it isn't locking them away from the bad; It's exposing the bad according to God's Word. And I want to be the one to do it not let someone else do it for me.
I'm glad God shelter's me.
