When I was in college I did a term paper for an education class on how parents approached character education with their children. I decided to interview Christian Scientist parents, because I was particularly interested in the spiritual dimension of bringing up children, and I knew there would be a strong emphasis in that area from these parents. I spoke with about twenty sets of parents, and found an interesting theme emerging among them. The ones who felt that their children had grown up to be successful, moral, spiritually grounded, well-adjusted adults had encouraged them to recognize their direct relationship to God and to learn to pray for themselves. Those who had doubts about their children's character development said they wish they had not tried so hard to buffer their learning experiences—not tried to be a kind of intermediary between God and their children. They said that eventually their children had had to find this relationship on their own, and sometimes it was harder as an adult.
In prayer, we acknowledged that the children could hear Mind speaking.
A Quarter of a century later, after raising our three daughters, I'd have to say that this is the largest lesson I've learned about parenting, especially in relation to keeping our children safe. We realized pretty early on that while we had a vital responsibility to care for our children in every way, we could not personally guarantee their safety. We could not be with them at all times, and we would not have had any real peace if we had felt responsible for ensuring their safety at every moment. But we also realized that in addition to the common aspects of caring for our children, there was something more we could do that would be invaluable to them wherever they were and whatever situation they might be facing. We could teach them about listening to God's voice within them.
