My Thoughts on Sheltering

Heart of the Matter Meme

My thoughts on the quote:
"Clearly there is an appropriate kind of sheltering. When those who are opposed to homeschooling accuse me of sheltering my children, my reply is always, 'What are you going to accuse me of next, feeding and clothing them?" ~R.C. Sproul Jr

I choose to expose my children to the real world. When we are in a store, I encourage them to talk to adults. At church, I encourage them to ask the pastors questions. My kids even start conversations with adults when we are on vacations. I remember when we were walking around a civil war battlefield in Gettysburg, my kids met an artist. He was sketching the battlefield and told the kids so much history about the battle that took place there.

My kids are exposed to real people at church. They have relationships with adults and children of all ages. They are also exposed to real people when we go to homeschooling events. We visit with real families when they invite us to their homes. We interact with our real neighbors. We listen to the radio, watch some TV shows, and go to some sites on the Internet. I tell my children about the sad realities of the world. There are many times when I explain the unfortunate situations that some people live in and tell my kids how we can help them or pray for them. When my kids are old enough, I'll expose them to a real job and a real college.

I choose to shelter my kids from things that I don't consider part of the real world. I went to school as a child and I volunteered in a grade school a few years ago. The school setting is one of the things that I don't want to expose my children to. School children are forced to sit for long amounts of time. They are forced to learn and relearn facts that they cannot relate to. The children are forced to remain quiet and inactive. All children are expected to learn at the same pace or they will be forced to repeat the school year. I chose to shelter my kids from the adult educators that want to daily influence my children. I'm the mom; I want to influence my children with things that I feel are important.

I also choose to shelter my children from the kids who are not a good influence. A lot of emotional damage can be done by another child who is being raised incorrectly. When my children are older, they will have learned the skills to be able to deal with people who are mean and hurtful. For now, I am going to protect my child emotionally through sheltering.

Sheltering is a necessary part of parenting. I believe that we can raise our children in the real world and honor God by sheltering them appropriately.