Parents Matter

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of parents recently. As a member of the Leadership Bartholomew County Class of ’09, I recently attended a class session focused on Education. We talked about public schools and what we as Americans want from our schools and the challenges the schools face in trying to meet those expectations.

We often tend to want the education system to teach our children everything they’ll need to know to be successful in life; however schools only account for 20 percent of a student’s achievement while their background accounts for 80 percent. I wonder how many parents fully grasp how important and vital their role is in the success of their children’s education.

Often at the Pregnancy Care Center you’ll hear Lisa Newton and Tracey Pike who oversee our abstinence programs say, “When you know better, you do better.” So often what seems like common sense and human nature to most isn’t even on the radar of others as being a standard truth. I honestly believe in the majority of situations, it’s not out of laziness or because of an “I-don’t-care-attitude” that parents aren’t involved in their child’s life. It’s because they have never been TAUGHT how to be parents. This leaves them repeating the cycle of what was modeled in their own home which more often than not wasn’t a healthy, stable, encouraging environment.

Praise God the Pregnancy Care Center is in our communities reaching men and women with education so they (and their children) can have a fresh start equipped with the tools and education necessary to have a successful life. We are teaching parents to “know better” so they can “do better”. Every day at our centers, we’re teaching men and women about a variety of subjects such as:

· The importance of not smoking during pregnancy
· The importance of going to the doctor and getting prenatal care
· How to effectively discipline your child
· How to make a budget and the importance of doing so
· How to manage anger issues in a healthy way
· How to care for your newborn infant

Thank you for the part you play in helping us get this education to those who need it most. We are so thankful for you, our prayer, volunteer and financial supporters. You make this work possible and are equipping our clients to know the significance of their role in parenting.

Teresa Russell, Director of Marketing