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Check The Source (Not Politics)

I was recently sent an editorial (remember, editorials are personal opinions). It talked about parenting, children and the family structure. I don't remember the title or the author's name and that alone should tell you all you need to know. That however isn't the point, it's the very fact that this article is circulating at lightning speed, or as the kids today say "Going Viral."

The gist of the article was to tell parents that their kids are not the most important part of their families, they were. Now, if you read it carefully, it said the father was, but my point here isn't to dissect the article. Parents, many who feel either they spend too much or too little time on their children, all posted this. I saw it from friends I know on Facebook, acquaintance on Twitter and even saw a mention of it on Instagram, so obviously with that much exposure, it must be true, right?

Well, a six or seven minute search into the author's background shows that he is indeed a psychologist and the author of quite a few books. A little more searching and you find he's known for his archaic views and firm believer of that we've lost our way.. He believes we need to get back to dad being the bread winner, mom keeping the house and the kids never speaking until spoken to. You know, when America was "great."  He's been sued, disbarred from some places and he's even been banned by the APA! Now here's the thing. Of the tens of thousands of parents, who have shared this editorial and the possibly hundreds of thousands who have read it, how many do you think took the time to find out something about the source?

Maybe we do need to get back to a better time, but not recognizing kids as being the most important part of the family unit, isn't that time. We need to get back to a time where information mattered and where it came from mattered even more.

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