The Difference Involved Parents Make

Amie asked a good question- I found my comment getting long, and decided just to post it since I didn't have a better idea tonight anyway. Her question was something along the lines of- Teaching a majority of Mormons, did you have less behavior problems?

There were less issues. I attribute some of that to faith, but in 5th/6th grade a lot of the kids didn't "own" their faith yet and their ability to practice it in their daily life was only developing.

More of the good behavior resulted from involved parents. Most kids had moms who stayed home and were available to volunteer, were there when they got home, and made sure their homework got done. On top of that, the kids had two parents around, period. These kids were read to at an early age, exposed to good language, and taught to count when they were small. They came to school ready to learn, and they know their parents are right there to help support them (or get on their case, if need be).

Now I have a lot of kids who are in single-parent homes and/or their parents have to work long hours in order to support the family. That isn't to say that the parents of my kids now aren't good parents. Most of them are working really hard to try to keep their family afloat and are doing everything in their power to help out. Unfortunately, their level of involvement just can't be as great.

Of course, there are still the parents who make you wish there were a "parenting test" people had to pass before having kids.