Childhood is a time when life should be simple, joyful and carefree. I remember growing up in small Texas towns riding my bike all over town and only having one rule; get home before the street lights come on!

The most complicated part of my day as a child, during the summer, was who’s house we were going to grab lunch at. And during the school year it was taking time out from playing with my friends to take a few moments to study for the next days test.

Looking back I had a really good childhood.

I know everyone hasn’t and doesn’t.

Which is a crying shame!

I have a real soft spot when it comes to kids. I got this, I think, from my dad. He was really good with kids. Me, well, not as much but I hate seeing kids in difficult situations. And today that seems to be all to common for them.

My wife teaches first grade. Through the years she has seen her fair share of broken and beaten kids, both literally and figuratively. Like a doctor, she cares for them while she has them but can only do so much during the year they are with her. However, those kids stay with her in her heart for the rest of her life, and in many cases mine too.

I remember the stories of bad parenting, absent parenting, and just straight up abuse.

And before you start thinking that it is not my place to judge, you are correct. But judge I do. I judge myself as well in this. My parenting skills were nothing to shine a light on. In my latter years I have a lot of parenting regrets. But I can tell you this, with all honesty, I did everything I did as a parent in love. Even the hard stuff. I just wish I had loved them even more.

And yes, I am calling parents out! If you are loving on your kids, and helping them learn values in life, good for you. If you are being abusive, God help you, and pray that I am never near when you are.

I don’t have a filter here. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. In fact my filters in a lot of ways are beginning to fail me. I find myself more vocal and more angry than ever before in my life.

I don’t want to impinge on others lives, so you want to abuse yourself, go right ahead. That is your choice. I will listen, and help in any way I can, but when your abuse bleeds (sometimes literally) on to others lives (especially children) then my filter is gone.

This world is a hard enough place for us without inflicting even more home based angst on our kids. Yea, I get that I have stacked my soap boxes and climbed up to shake my fist at the world. But I got news for you, the world needs more than fist shaking. It needs a good slap upside the head.

You may say, who am I to do that fist shaking or slapping. Nobody, really, just another git with a blog (so the two of you who read my blog can tell me to shut up).

The problem here is that parents have stopped parenting. They, many times, live their lives like they did before they had kids and the child just becomes a hindrance in the adults (and I use that term very loosely) striving for their own pleasure.

When you have a family you take on a responsibility. No longer are you living for yourself. You have to put them first, not your own proclivities. It is time to step up. But too often, and with fathers this is a pandemic, parents are absent. They are off making their place in the business world, living large and playing the worlds game. And the world does not want you to care for your family. Simple as that.

Maybe I have just seen too much of this. Too much in my years on earth of people putting their families, their kids, second, third, forth or worse, not caring at all.

Children are a gift.

Childhood is a gift.

Give it!