{"id":74857,"date":"2021-05-30T12:49:29","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T16:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/?p=74857"},"modified":"2021-06-04T12:34:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T16:34:38","slug":"the-2021-global-day-of-parents-hope-amid-a-dystopian-childhood-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/the-2021-global-day-of-parents-hope-amid-a-dystopian-childhood-nightmare","title":{"rendered":"The 2021 Global Day of Parents: hope amid a dystopian childhood nightmare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last updated on June 4th, 2021 at 12:34 pm<\/p>\n

This may well be the most perilous time ever for children. Those who make it past the global scourge of abortion to breathe the breath of life enter a world fraught with dangerous and sometimes deadly hazards. Australian Professor Philip Darbyshire observed<\/a>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine our children and young people being valued, nurtured, cared for, heard, protected, educated, housed, employed, safe and loved. What we have instead today is some dystopian childhood nightmare, a man-made (and I choose that term deliberately) landscape of real world and virtual abuse, violence, sexploitation, trafficking, starvation, armed conflict, mental health crises, poverty and yet more abuse and violence, all directed at children and young people and so much of it unleashed and perpetrated by the very adults that children often rely on for protection.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In such a world, blessed indeed are those children fortunate enough to be welcomed and raised by parents who provide what the United Nations calls for in its Declaration of the Rights of the Child<\/a>: \u201cspecial protection\u201d and \u201clove and understanding\u2026 in an atmosphere of affection\u201d to allow children to \u201cdevelop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vivid description of such a family was presented to the UN General Assembly by US representative Wade Horn at the 10th<\/sup> anniversary of the International Year of the Family: \u201cAs the cradle of life and love for each new generation, the family is the primary source of personal identity, self-esteem, and support for children. It is also the first and foremost school of life, uniquely suited to teach children integrity, character, morals, responsibility, service, and wisdom.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the foundation for such a family, says IOF founder Dr. Allan Carlson, is \u201cthe conjugal bond built on fidelity, mutual duty, and respect\u201d in which husband and wife \u201cemerge into their full potential\u201d and \u201cbecome as their Creator intended, a being complete.\u201d From this \u201cnatural union flows new human life\u201d as the parents \u201cfind their love transformed into a living child\u201d and become \u201cthe child\u2019s first teachers\u201d and \u201cguides and guardians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, too many children are raised in circumstances less than ideal. According to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, \u201cSingle-parent and blended families can be heroic examples of love. But a vast amount of research shows what, in a saner age, would be obvious. Families with two biological parents who remain married\u2014i.e., a loving mother and father\u2014produce the best outcomes for their children.\u201d No wonder the Universal Declaration of Human Rights unequivocally acknowledges the natural<\/em> family to be the \u201cfundamental group unit of society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create an ideal society for the protection of children is the hope expressed<\/a> by Australian Professor Fiona Stanley, the 2003 Australian of the Year and author of the book Children of the Lucky Country?: How Australian Society Has Turned Its Back on Children and Why Children Matter<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of us would continually and automatically think about our actions and decisions in terms of what they meant for children and young people. All federal, state and territory legislation introduced would have been checked as to how it might impact, negatively or positively, on our children\u2019s developmental chances\u2026. Australia would become a country internationally recognized as one which not only produces gold medal-winning swimmers but is a great place for all children to grow up.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In celebration of the 2021 Global Day of Parents on June 1, we at IOF:<\/p>\n\n\n\n