Teaching Arrogance

I was in a store once and observed a young girl, about eight to ten years old, quarreling with her mother. It was clear the mother did not know how to handle the situation and was completely intimidated by this little girl. In front of everyone in the store, she made the decision to let the stubborn little girl have her way. The mother chose not to stand her ground and gave in.

In the book of Sirach, there is much sound advice regarding child rearing. If everyone (especially Catholics) would read the book, and take even a fraction of the advice therein, a radical change would happen to our society. One of the best pieces of advice from Sirach is this passage:

"Give him no authority in his youth, and do not ignore his errors (30:11)."

Sadly, that mother in the store that day was giving her daughter "authority in her youth"; exactly as Sirach warned against. The mother, also, was ignoring her daughter's errors. The responsibility of parents is to correct their children's errors and be a loving and wise authority in their children's lives. The result of parenting that ignores this is that children grow up to be entitled. These children believe that they are the center of the universe, and never learn how to deal with adversity.

It may seem easier to choose the path of least resistance, but in the end it is harder. The parent who gives in every time a child is stubborn is teaching the child that he can always get his way if he just pushes enough. This is not going to teach a child perseverance, it is going to teach them arrogance. The world is going to hand them a number of disappointments and if the child has not learned to deal with things like this when he is younger then it will be very difficult for him when he grows up.

Parents, listen to the wisdom of the Scriptures, especially in areas like this where a soul is at stake. As I have said before, I will say it again. Read Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon, and Sirach; and read them regularly. God has given us a wealth of life wisdom in those three books, and we cannot neglect them.