Parental Authority (part 1)

Parental authority is always a tricky subject because parents are always afraid of falling into one of the two extremes: Authoritarianism or Permissiveness. 
But before delving into the topic of parental authority I want to share two points that I think are very important when educating our children.

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When we educate our children, we have to Begin with the END in mind, as Stephen Covey, the motivational speaker that died on July 2012, wrote in his book The 7 Habits of highly effective families.
So, what kind of end do we have in mind for our family?

• What do we really want for our children?
• What do we want our family to become?
• What do we want each one of our children to become?

​The answer will vary because we are all different but the key is to discern: what is the END?
I think we can all agree that that every human being yearns for happiness. I am sure that there is no one that can honestly declare that he wants to be miserable or unhappy.
​What is Happiness? A classic definition of happiness states that a person is happy if she achieves to develop everything that she is, according to human nature. Reason, allows the person to discover what is good and with her Will she acts in accordance to what was seen as good and achieves a peaceful enjoyment of life.
As you will see, the correct use of Parental Authority will help us achieve this end.

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2. The other point to have in mind is that we are not raising kids but future adults. This is called Preventive Education, which is educating for the future. So to prevent is to learn how to educate better, without improvising.
The theory of the Theater reminds us that the brain is a like an empty theater. Every chair is waiting for an idea, a concept, a good habit, etc. How easy is to sit something good when the chair is empty! And how difficult it is to sit when the chair is occupied! But if a bad habits sits down first, it is more difficult to change. But don’t get discouraged! No matter what the ages of your children are, it is never too late to start! But the sooner you start, the better it will be! Educating in the future is to get there early, so to speak, with the good habit. 

To prevent is to know how to appreciate a good friend, before having a bad one. It is to know the effects of drugs, before they offer it to you. To prevent is to know about the beauty of your body, before you are asked to have sex. It is to know that you don’t have to hang around evil, but to go in the other direction. To prevent is to know that you have to study to get good grades, before regretting later on. It is to know that the internet, video games, etc. create an addiction…

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To prevent is to know...

• that Happiness is found doing the GOOD. 
  
• that the person is more FREE when he does the good. 
  
• that true LOVE is not selfish.

Stay tuned for part 2 of the series...