Never before have parents dealt with an environment as alluring to children as the one which we find ourselves in today. Never before have children been tempted to succumb to a culture that preaches the religion of self-gratification and pleasure-seeking. Never before has the home been less insulated to the effects of the media. Never before has family life been so much at risk, reflecting the general breakdown of the family in the Western world. Parents, more than ever, need to compete where they are strongest and give their children the love and security that the street can never offer. Parents need to spend time gaining their children’s trust, and children need to feel that their parents know them and understand them. New approaches to problem solving, listening skills, and the imparting of a deep feeling of self-worth and dignity are musts for today’s family. With these skills, the Torah home can triumph over all challenges, for the street cannot even remotely compete with a strong, loving home in which children are heard, and who are therefore willing to hear.
