The Children They Are Exposed Too

As a parent, it is our job to protect and be cautious about who and what we expose our children too. We focus on what kind of foods they eat. What type of drinks they drink. What do they watch on TV. What kind of  people they are exposed too. What clothes they wear, etc. etc, at nausea.

I am especially cautious about the type of kids Harmonie plays with. I like to surround her with little kids who are being raised with good manners and a good education. Children who are being raised to be cautious of the world and conscious of how to change it through giving back. Children who are taught to believe in some type of higher power. I am not a Catholic that thinks our way is the only way. I'm a spiritual woman that believes there are many ways.

I sadly had to have a conversation with Harmonie the other day. I had to explain to her why I don't allow her to play with the little kids in our apartment building. We live in what some would say is the ghetto. It's a temporary situation but it is the situation. We stay in doors when we are home because our building is not a playground. That's my opinion on it. There is no playground. There is a walkway and apartments. When Harmonie wants to play I take her to the park. We have one two blocks away. The little kids in our building were out playing ball. One of the little boys took the ball then began to elbow and punch at the other little boy he was playing with. It appeared they were playing but they were very rough. There was a little girl out there also. Harmonie walked out with the kids while I locked up our apartment. By the time I got out front to her she was complaining that the little girl who may be a year or two younger was being rude and told her to shut up.  She was visibly irritated. As we began to take our walk I saw a parking space and asked Harmonie to wait by the spot while I went to get the car. When I came back she was even more pissed.

As we a walked to the store, she said the little girl was pointing a water gun at her and threatening her with it. She said she told the girl to stop but she processed. So Harmonie took the gun and threw it over a fence. Not a nice thing to do but neither is pointing a gun at a kid to taunt them.

I explained to Harmonie that I don't let her play with those little kids because they aren't very nice. They play to rough, are rude and have no manners. Their parents yell and cuss at them and call them bad names. I know this because we can hear them from our apartment. I tried to explain to her that kids that have no manners, are rude and mean do not do well in school and grow up with lots of problems. They grow up not doing well in life. I wanted her to know that her father and I wanted her to do well in life and have raised her in a way that would make that happen. She appeared to understand and agreed.

It is sad that I must have these types of conversations with her. It's a shame that we all must have these types of conversations with our children but if we don't explain these things they will succumb to peer pressure, bullying and possibly not strive to be their best. The world is not a place where we are equal. We are created equal but aren't equal. We all make choices and sometimes the choices made are not good one.

What do you think? Do you pay attention to the types of children your children are surrounded by. Is there a type of child you won't allow your kids to play with. I want to hear your stories.