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Eye on the World: a spiritual model for parenting
Parenting issues have been in the headlines quite a bit lately. With the proliferation of smartphones and iPads and other tablets, there’s a healthy debate about how much time, if any, parents should allow their kids to spend with these devices (to say nothing of the privacy issues involved). In California, a bill is pending which tries to simplify custody in cases where more than two adults figure prominently in a child’s life. And weeks of discussion have sprung up in the wake of an opinion article in The Atlantic that argues eloquently about the difficulties women face in trying to pursue professional careers while also being involved in their kids’ lives.
For parents – or anyone interested in supporting responsible parenting – it’s comforting to learn more of God’s tender relationship with His creation. In a very real way, God provides the perfect model of fathering and mothering care, and each one of us reflects and expresses that perfect parenting model.
“For parents,” an article from The Christian Science Journal, offers a helpful spiritual basis for approaching all sorts of parenting issues, from behavioral challenges to emotional crises. The author shares his experience raising a son and explains how turning to prayer “to understand more of God’s loving control over the whole family” brought clarity and stability to his role as a father. This doesn’t mean conceiving of God as a distant authority figure and then ceding parenting duties to Him. Quite the opposite -- a spiritual perspective brings parents and children closer together, promotes healthy affection, and provides a strong, loving foundation from which to make family decisions.
You might also enjoy “Straight talk about parenting,” an article from the Christian Science Sentinel which discusses how prayer gently breaks down and dissolves human will or obstinacy (on the part of a child or a parent!). When we’re allowing God, Principle, to guide our day, we find a rhythm that alleviates hectic activity and parenting pressure, and gives us time to care for and cherish our children.
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, wrote quite a bit about how prayer can promote healthy, happy children. “I’ve got cold,” from the December 1884 issue of The Christian Science Journal (and later reprinted in Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896), explores how a parent’s inspired, caring, spiritual mindset plays a role in allowing his or her children to live safe, lively, flourishing lives. With so many news articles and opinion pieces floating around about how to be a better mother or father, how comforting to know that we all – whether we have kids or not – can look to God, our common divine Parent, for protection and guidance!