by SweetBabyCheezits 101 Replies latest jw friends
Well, that picture is just a little on the Nazi side -
Are these reasons important enough to make make your child a source of ridicule? Does your child understand their importance? It's possible they may care more about not being mocked or ridiculed then about whatever your objections to the pledge of allegiance may be.
A very valid point -
so which flag should they salute????
Neither, the flag of the flying spaghetti monster can replace both.
-Sab
KS: Are these reasons important enough to make make your child a source of ridicule? Does your child understand their importance? It's possible they may care more about not being mocked or ridiculed then about whatever your objections to the pledge of allegiance may be.
Your phrasing is slanted here, KS. How would I 'make my child a source of ridicule'? Is that the same way that an abused wife makes her husband beat her? Maybe that isn't what you meant but, as a father, I don't want to see anything bad happen to my kids. Ridiculers are responsible for ridicule.
In some areas, I've never regretted being different at school. Is that really so bad? Raising a child is, in part, training them to be an adult. Should kids always be protected from the real world? Or should they be given the tools to take it on?
Also, I never got an ounce of ridicule from not pledging as a JW.
Regardless, I also noted that I will not force her to avoid the pledge.... it's her decision but I want her to understand what it means.
SBC: Of course, I wouldn't just up and tell my kid to STOP this practice because it's bad. My goal is to build critical thinking so that she arrives at her own well-informed conclusion. Then if she makes a stand, it'll be due to her own convictions. (Of course, deep down I hope she'll see it the same way.)
SBC - I don't think you have to worry about your child being brainwashed or not using critical thinking skills. Not from what you've posted about teaching those skills.
The pledge can get lost as a simple tradition that is words without meaning. What you teach is more important.
Tammy
Just make sure they join in the lord's prayer at football games though - if they don't, you're really unAmerican. :)
I say make up your mind and quit jerking your kid around. Mountain out of molehills. The salute means nothing to the children its another brainless motion they go through. The witnesses make a big deal out of nothing to control their kids. I grew up not saluting and in time the pledge meant nothing to the other kids around me. A non issue.
OnceWas: I say make up your mind and quit jerking your kid around. Mountain out of molehills.
Where the eff do you get off saying I'm "jerking my kid around"? Read the whole OP.
JNFB: I'm trying to work that out myself. Also, my children have dual citizenship - so which flag should they salute????
Excellent point, JNFB!
But I don’t make patriotic vows of “my country, right or wrong” and I certainly don’t want my kids to do so.-- so basically you do not really want your kids to exercise their own critical thinking skills but to conform to yours? What if they do love their country and one day want to serve in the military? what if they don't feel like being the weirdo in class for now? if you really wanted them to learn critical thinking skills maybe they could study both sides of the issue without your opinion on the matter and see where they want to end up on the issue. That would be promoting true critical thinking and coming to ones own conclusions, even if mom & dad don't agree. You may have done the same when you left the jw's, no?
OnceWas: The salute means nothing to the children its another brainless motion they go through.
And I suppose if I wanted my kids to be brainless, that might be a good practice.
The witnesses make a big deal out of nothing to control their kids. I grew up not saluting and in time the pledge meant nothing to the other kids around me. A non issue.
Are you a parent?
