Dear Editor@Matzav.com,
I usually contain my impulses to write to websites, but after reading something on Matzav.com not long ago, I feel compelled to comment.
I feel that it is every parent’s vital obligation to talk to their children. Do parents fail to recognize that their primary challenge as parents is their career in educating their children? You, as a parent, have the obligation to educate yourself to do the best job possible with each and every one of your offspring. It is your responsibility to form a bond and relationship with your child in the short years that we have, because once your child has matured into an opinionated teenager it is probably too late to start opening a line of communication with them. You cannot impose a relationship at a time when it is hardest for the recipient to accept.
So, if you find yourself being a parent who is lacking the skills to communicate and teach your child regarding some sensitive and delicate issues, don’t throw the job at the yeshiva. Go talk to your rov, because you are the one who’s ultimately responsible for your child. Remember, it is your child.
If you don’t feel comfortable discussing delicate issues with your child, how do you think your child will feel when they need to discuss delicate issues and don’t feel comfortable talking to their own parents?
Children need to know that their parents are there for them in all aspects of life, and not only when it comes to telling them which candy they may or may not eat!
A Matzav Reader