Children are full of life. I am sure you have noticed …
They aren’t static, and raising children isn’t easy. It takes work, ongoing attention and patience. Parents sometime complain about the energy level of their children. They don’t feel in control. They notice that their children move like molecules with the seeming randomness of Brownian movement. They are not molecules. I encourage the parents by telling them that it is easier to train a wild pony than a dead horse. Enthusiasm and life is easier to deal with than lethargy and brokenness. We have to be creative and alert ourselves. Disciplining children with an incessant “Don’t do that!” is not enough because, as parents, we are meant to be doing more than just controlling behavior; we are also helping them to develop love of beauty, and love for the Church, the Truth, the Lord and for the other. We are teaching them to control themselves and at times to push themselves. Expect them to test the limits, repeatedly fall, to forget, and to resist. Don’t be surprised by this. We do it and we shouldn’t be so surprised by their fallen human nature. We are supposed to emulate and pray for the guilelessness of children; but children though they are guileless need training in obeying their parents, who should be leading them in the way of the commandments.
