Parenting

One thing that I admire about my parents was their ability to raise eleven children that all turned out to be outstanding people. Now most of my brothers and sisters are successful business owners or doctors and they all have families that still go to church and are very strong in the gospel. Now doing what my brothers and sisters do it was ultimately their choice but since my parents raised them they had a very big impact on what they learned and what they did and how the grew up. However as I've communicated and talk to my older brothers and sisters I have found out that they contribute most of their success to the things that they learned while they were young and at home under the guidance of our parents. I found that really interesting because here they are very successful and what they do and they had more years away from home then they did at home and more time to think for themselves, learn at school, and at work, but yet they contribute most of their success to our parents and what they taught them while they were young. Honestly, I have no idea how our parents did it. There are eleven of us in total and all of us still are active members of the church and work hard and are successful. Now statistically that doesn't make a whole lot of sense because there are plenty of parents that are amazing parents that do everything right and they still raise kids that aren't that successful or maybe get into drugs or leave the church or maybe end up in prison. Now I don't know how our patents did it, but we all turned out okay. So far at least. 

I remember this one time when my mother did not let one of my brothers go hang out with one of his friends because she thought he was a bad influence on my brother, and I remember that my brother’s friend’s mom wanted them to hang out. When my mother said that he could not hang out my brother’s friend’s mom got really upset and told my mother that she didn't know how to raise kids and that she's so controlling and whatever. I thought that was really interesting because my brother is friend’s mom has four children and 1 was still active in the church and the other three had fallen away and either had drug problems or had a baby outside of wedlock and was living with different people. While my mother had raised 11 children and they're on strong members of the church and have beautiful families and are very successful people. Now by any means I'm not saying that my brother’s friend’s mom is a bad parent or was a bad parent or does not know how to raise children. 

I asked my parents a while back ago how they did it and they said that they followed the gospel and that they had family evening on Mondays like the Prophet had said and they spend time with their children any thought them how to be strong and work hard at a young age. They contribute their success in raising their children to the gospel and the teachings of the gospel. Now my parents are by no means perfect parents they've made mistakes they still make mistakes but I can honestly say that I grew up in a home of love and compassion and of teaching of hard work fearing the Lord. Then I can honestly say that spending time with your children as a parent and teaching them yourself about the Lord and about hard work and about honesty and integrity and the dangers of the world you will raise honest and hardworking then successful children.