Notes from this Episode:

Background:

• Innocence is defined as freedom from guilt or sin through being unacquainted with evil, lack of knowledge, and having simplicity and purity
• Children come into the world full of the good, the beautiful and the true – everything in their world just is
• Children don’t have:
  • Ulterior motives
  • They aren’t unkind
  • They trust until they learn not to trust
  • They are unashamed of their bodies
  • They live in wonder until someone makes fun of them or mocks them
  • Creation is all-inspiring
  • They don’t lie until we shame them about their behavior and teach them to fear us

Problem

• You can see a child whose innocence has been taken away and now deals with the burden of adult realities
• We have a tremendous responsibility to protect the innocence of our children
• Once it’s gone, you can’t get it back

Things to Think about When Protecting You Children’s Innocence

• Pray to their guardian angels to protect their innocence
• You make the decisions of what you’re going to allow for your children to protect them
• Protect their eyes and ears
• Be vigilant about what technology you give your children

Technology & Play

• Technology has taken away not only the innocence of our children, but also our innocence by providing images and content that are just not good for us
  • Don’t allow them to play all the games they want or be on the popular apps
  • Make sure that you have internet monitoring systems in place
  • Make sure all your devices are always in public spaces
  • Be careful that you don’t allow children to watch too much TV and also be careful of what they watch – including disrespectful themes and characters
    • Children will become disrespectful when they see and hear those characters
    • If you are wondering why your children are so sassy, pay attention to what they watch on TV
• Be careful of the music you listen to in the car and cognizant of the lyrics
  • Instead of always having the radio on, talk teach each other
    • Or let them be silent – let them look out the window and create stories behind the scenes they see – give them space and silence for their imaginations to flourish
• Protect their innocence through their playtime – avoid graphic toys
  • Superheroes and cartoons that are disrespectful or graphically drawn/manufactured, both in violence and the unrealistic depiction of their bodies
• Help your children (especially your girls) keep their innocence in the way their dress
  • We take their innocence away by dressing them up as mini adults
  • Help them to learn, from two years-old, how to dress with modesty, simplicity, and innocence
• We want our children to be great readers, but do you sacrifice the quality of the books for reading time?
  • Say “No” to the junk books, they are like junk food – full of sugar and additives that end up leaving you angry and bloated after you eat too much
  • Children often emulate the characters who are never respectful – they will take on character traits that you don’t want them imitating
  • Introduce your children to classics that are well-written and innocent

Final Considerations

• Your children may not like it in the beginning, when you take things away, but if you are loving them and respecting them, but in the long run, they will appreciate why you did it
• Don’t feel the need to make sure they’re entertained all the time, either by you or with toys
  • Let them be bored – that’s when their imaginations and simplicity can ignite
• You and your husband also have the power to take away their innocence

• Adult behaviors of selfishness, self-centeredness, pride, disagreements/arguments, criticisms, if done in front of our children, erode their innocence
  • Disagreements and criticisms of our spouses especially contribute to this – you’re putting your child in a place of having to choose who is right and who is wrong.
  • Maybe we’ve taken our children’s innocence away by modeling behavior that is without human interaction
    • Check your screen time in your settings and compare it to the amount of eye contact you have had with your child that day.  What does it look like?
• The final consideration is the friends that your children are surrounded by
  • There are children that your children should not be friends with
  • We teach our children to be charitable and kind to everyone, but you become who you surround yourself with
  • If the parents of another child are not vigilant in protecting their own children’s innocence, then that should not be a sacrifice your child needs to makes
  • Speak to your children often to help them understand how to find the friends that will be good friends for them – those who share the same values and will help them be better rather than tempt them to do wrong
• Do you think you don’t have time to monitor all of this?
  • You have to find time – you have to make time in the day to monitor what’s going on
  • Protect your child’s innocence for as long as possible
• The ultimate piece of advice I can give is to protect your own innocence – fill your own life with the good, the beautiful, and the true, and you will model the values your children with embrace
  • From the time they are toddlers, nurture a strong connection with them, be their mentor and their trusted friend (not their peer) – the friend that nurtures all that is simple and pure in the world