Children Will Listen

Last Thursday, on Desperate Housewives, Lynette broke down. She hasn't been sleeping well. Her body system was trashed when she took her children's ADD pills. Another mother from her children's school adviced her to do so to be able to cope with the demands of being a wife and a mother. But then, she had enough. She was very tired yet she couldn't sleep. One time, when her kids were noisily playing in the house, she sat for awhile not knowing she dozed-off. She dreamt of killing herself with the gun that Mary Alice gave her. That was the time she realized that she really had enough! She gave her kids for a while to Susan and took off.

Anxious about their friend's condition, Susan and Bree went after her. When asked about what's bothering her, Lynette just cried. She feels inadequate as a wife and a mother. She thinks that she is a failure. She could not control her kids and she feels that she isn't giving them enough.

Susan and Bree related their experiences to her. They told her that it was just normal to feel those things. But it doesn't mean that she is a bad mother. Every mother goes through a situation wherein she wants to give up her children. There were times that one would feel so full of the things around her and may want to just surrender.

"Why didn't you tell me those before?" Lynette asked.

"Because no one wants other people to know that they can't handle things," Bree answered. "No one wants people to know that they need help."

"Well, we should talk about these things," Lynette said while crying her eyes out. She finally had the release she needed all along.

***

How do you say to your child in the night
Nothing is all black but then nothing is all white?
How do you say it will all be alright
When you know that it mightn’t be true?
What do you do?

Sometimes, I do get to ask the same question to myself. Am I being a good parent to Angel? Am I giving her all the love and attention that she needs to grow up as a good child? Would all my faults turn against me once she grows old? Would I be able to give her the good future she truly deserves?

Careful the things you say,
Children will listen.
Careful the things you do,
Children will see.
And learn.
Children may not obey,
But children will listen.
Children will look to you
For which way to turn,
To learn what to be.
Careful before you say,
Listen to me.
Children will listen.

If one would really think about it, being a parent is the hardest job in the world! One little screw up could turn into a disaster in the child's future. A simple drink of aspirin while pregnant could mean physical defects. A simple anger experienced may mean temper for the child. A simple blurted curse word could be the child's first uttered word.

Careful the wish you make,
Wishes are children.
Careful the path they take,
Wishes come true,
Not free.
Careful the spell you cast,
Not just on children.
Sometimes the spell may last
Past what you can see
And turn against you...

When I was in high school, I told my friends that there should be a seminar for would-be parents. All the basics and the Psychology of rearing a child should be taught there. It should be intensive and not just a week or two event. If one would fail the seminar, then they wouldn't be allow to bear any children. Unless they'd take the seminar again and pass it.

Careful the tale you tell.
That is the spell.
Children will listen...

Was it an absurb thought? It may not be in the best interest of the people taking the seminar but it is in the best interest of the children that are about to be born! Having children may be someone's right and privilege but it is also a huge responsibility that entails enough attention and carefulness! It may sound unfair to say this but really, whatever children become as they grow up depends on how they were raised by their parents!

How can you say to a child who’s in flight,
Don’t slip away and I won’t hold so tight?
What can you say that no matter how slight won’t be misunderstood?
What do you leave to your child when you’re dead
Only what ever you put in it’s head
Things that your mother and father had said
Which were left to them too.
Careful what you say, children will listen
Careful you do it too, children will see and learn.
Oh!

Guide them but step away,
Children will glisten.
Temper with what is true
And children will turn,
If just to be free.
Careful before you say,
Listen to me.
Children will listen...
Children will listen!
Children, children will listen.