Consider the parents influence on children through Lucy. She was sure her marriage was one never ending round of delight. When she visited her married sister and bathed the baby, she was convinced that nothing could be more wonderful.

She did not realize that to the parents, a baby is not only a source of deep joy, but a responsibility twenty-four hours a day. Furthermore, caring for children means far more than feeding them, staying up with them nights, and wiping their noses. It involves also a vital emotional adjustment.

When a father slaps a crying baby hard enough to kill it; when a mother leaves small children unattended and is found dead in a car, the moral and personality limitations of the parents are evident.

What we do not see is that sincere and conscientious parents, parents who do their best, often seriously damage their children. Careful studies and clinical evidence show the harm which can result, not only from ignorance, but from personality disturbances of the parents.

Parents who are themselves frustrated and thwarted may, despite careful physical care, make their children feel unwanted and unloved, and thus cause more harm than might physical abuse. It is true that, at times, all children are annoying, and that parents, being human, will express their annoyance.

But if the child grows up feeling that he is primarily a nuisance and a burden, their chances for developing are seriously impaired. Children who are misfits, and some who turn out to be vicious, did not all come from "bad" homes.

Some came from families in which the parents did their very best, but a best which was not good enough because the parents were emotionally disturbed. Competent parenthood requires that the parents not only know how to bring up their children, but also that they are themselves wholesome enough so that their influence upon the children is desirable. So the question for you today is this; can you see the potential in your date on becoming a responsible parent to your children?

Now you know the significance of parents influence on children, consider these other questions:

Are you developed enough to be able to live happily with others?

How can you tell about your emotional stability?

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