Parental Rights

Just in case you don't read through the whole blog - go to parentalrights.org and sign the petition.

With that out of the way..

I'm outraged. You should be outraged. Every patriotic American who enjoys their free way of life should be outraged. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles - all should be outraged. Even if you aren't outraged, won't you just sign the petition for those of us who are?

Read about these rulings in courts regarding the removal of parental rights.

Children angry that their parents make them go to church or ground them for using drugs? And the kids are taken away by CPS from the parents because of "conflict between parent and child" ????

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure every child has conflict at some point in their life with their parents. In fact I remember a whole lot of conflict as a teenager as I wanted to do things that would have most likely messed my life up but my parents firmly refused to let me.

And I'm sure glad now! Because they knew better than I did.

Does this mean I should be concerned about making my kids eat their vegetables if they don't want to? Or how about that I make them wear a hat and mittens when it's cold out?

Because if a parent can't tell their child "don't do drugs in this house or you're grounded" then I'm in big trouble for "It's past bed time and you have to sleep now."

Apparently, that while fundamental parent rights have been long acknowledged and recognized in the past, now they're in question. In 2000, only 4 out of 9 Supreme Court Justices expressly agreed that the Constitution “protects the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children.” Since then, 2 of those 4 justices have left the court. Perfect.

Now parental rights are under fire even more with the threat of the UNCRC treaty.

"Under the UNCRC, instead of following due process, government agencies would have the power to override your parental choices at their whim because they determine what is in "the best interest of the child.""

So..... I don't allow my children to drink soda. But I suppose that could be considered neglect - you know, not allowing them to have a typical happy childhood beverage experience. Besides that, it rots their teeth, which means they need dental work, which stimulates the economy. So I'm depriving the rest of America as well by not helping out the economy. So I could be granted custody under the condition I give my children soda. Sounds silly? Any sillier than a child being allowed to live back with their parents only if they go to church less frequently?

Let me stop my little rant here, if you've even made it this far, because I understand that it sounds so far fetched. Let me tell you what the UNCRC is NOT.

The UNCRC is NOT a protector of families. It is not going to help prevent abuse or neglect, both very serious issues. It is NOT good for our country. And it is not in the best interest of children.

Let me address each of those.

It is not a protector of families. Anything that undermines parents being able to raise their children freely is not a protector of families. Have you ever tried to do your job while someone stands over your shoulder telling you how to do it?

Did you ever have the experience of wondering how did your mom ALWAYS know when you're up to something?? Call it women's intuition, call it the good old adage "mom know's best," or whatever you want. My personal belief is that parents, who have spent every day of their child's life with them happen to know their kid a little bit better than anyone else. Maybe, just maybe, they might have some God given insight as to how to teach, train, and raise their child in ways detailed just to that child's specific, individual, personality needs.

Abuse and Neglect. The mistreatment and harm of children breaks my heart, into a billion pieces. This is going to be the emotional distraction used to get support for the UNCRC. Here's the issue : we already have laws in place for adults who break the law and abuse or neglect their children. This one does NOT change any of that for the better. There will still be a very small percentage of bad parents out there, who will still be tried and convicted the same way they are now. The UNCRC does not apply to bad parenting. If you're truly emotionally moved on behalf of the children who are victims of abuse and neglect, become a foster parent or adopt one of the thousands of children open for adoption and waiting for a new home in your state. But supporting the UNCRC will not help them. And continue to remind your children that having them eat vegetables is not abuse.

It is not good for our country. When a judge decides a better decision could be made, based on his emotional bias, and has children removed from their parents home s/he is breaking apart a family. In 1977 the Supreme Court stated "institution of the family is deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition. It is through the family that we inculcate and pass down many of our most cherished values, moral and cultural." Destroy the family = destroy moral values.

It is not in the best interest of children. Aside from the clear emotional effect of children who are without parents, studies of individual families show that what the family does is more important to student success than family income or education. This is true whether the family is rich or poor, whether the parents finished high school or not, or whether the child is in preschool or in the upper grades (Coleman 1966;Epstein 1991a; Stevenson Baker 1987; de Kanter, Ginsburg, Milne 1986; Henderson Berla 1994; Keith Keith 1993; Liontos 1992; Walberg, n.d.)

Hmm.. but what if there is no family? What will happen to the success of our children?

So now let me tell you what the UNCRC will do.

The UNCRC will trump your authority as parents. It will allow the government to determine what "morals" we should all value, be taught, and live by. It will allow the governement to deem when and how your child is educated and what they are taught.

Sounds like communism to me.

I'll stop and let you do the research yourself. Do me a favor, after you sign the petition it is not enough for you to simply spread the word about it (although you do need to do that). Follow up with at least 5 people you told about the petition to be sure that they signed it, and ask them to do the same with 5 others, and so on and so forth. Ok? Thanks. I want to see my grandchildren grow up in freedom, too. (feel free to choose larger number than 5)