Well Spring of God's Love

This information is provided as a guide for the make-up of people raising children and the potential effects. The purpose is to present to you differing scenarios of how children may be emotionally healthy or mired in dysfunction and to what degree.

We present this to you in hopes that you make an effort to either raise your own children in a loving, supportive environment or help others create stability for their children when varying degrees of dysfunction exist.

It is possible to raise the next few generations and refuse to allow any child to be left unsafe, insecure or alone. Where ever your “family” starts on this scale, begin there and strive to achieve a healthy household. The next generation will respond to the increased stability and reach even higher toward an emotionally healthy household.

1. Healthy mom & dad produce a docile bunch.
2. Single parent produces children who heavily swing toward the gender of that parent. Children may lack adequate supervision. Each child may receive a lesser amount of individual attention, including scholastic help. There is usually a lack financial resource.
3. Grandparents raising children cause a lack of physical activity, higher food intake and heavy sugar use. They rely upon their own upbringing when food and drink were encouraged without recognizing the dietary implications. There continues the limitations of supervision, individual attention, scholastic help and possible inadequate finances.
4. One grandparent raising children produces tendencies toward the gender of that grandparent, heavy caregiver stress and limitations of travel and /or relocation. The presence of only one grandparent causes the child or children to feel overtly obligated to stay at or close to home. There is little opportunity to follow their dreams. Higher education may not be possible or could create a lot of debt. Personal fulfilment is uncommon.
5. Siblings raising their siblings results in disorganization, lack of responsibility, poor nutrition and high dropout rates. Depression may be common in both the caregiver and the child. Acts of destructive behavior or self-injury may develop.

• The sibling who raises their own siblings brings about high caregiver stress, lack of self-definition, a desire to limit their own pregnancy/children, a fractured psyche, substance abuse and high dropout rates.
• The sibling raised by another sibling creates an emotional vacuum of the caregiver who is never satiated, irresponsibility, lack of respect for elders or parents in general, poor health, dysfunctional coping, mood swings, victim-oriented interactions, sociopathy, substance abuse and malingering or outright joblessness.

Children raised in foster care have higher incidents of all the above dysfunctional outcomes listed.

These are examples only and do not represent all possible outcomes for children in every situation. Some possible dysfunctional results are not listed. There are also some healthy “families” without either biological parent.

The information provided is based on the basic needs of each child being met.

The further away from healthy, well-adjusted parents, the more dysfunction may be present. Then, the possibilities of abuse, neglect, medical illness/trauma, sexual abuse, homelessness, poverty… will increase the emotional toll on both caregivers and children.

There is always hope. You, as an individual, may begin reaching for a healthy “family.” Several generations may have faltered but you may turn this around. Beginning with you, it is possible to increase the emotional stability of this generation and the next. Teaching children about love, respect, personal space, honesty, faith and responsibility will improve their relationship with their own children. Then that generation will raise children to the best of their ability.

You may be the one who changes everything. Have hope. Do the work. Be a leader and a follower and hold yourself to a higher standard. Do you remember a generation when there was bounty and prosperity in your family? Who was the family leader? What values, goals or priorities made it better? Why did it change? There may be a lot of lessons learned from looking back on the most recent successful “parent” and making adjustments to align with that success more closely.