According to the BBC, British children are among the least happy in the developed world.
This is the breaking news that we’re living in a materialistic world where parents are working longer hours to make more money, and as a result are spending less time with their children, which, according to the Unicef research, is the thing the children crave most. They’re compensating for this lack of quality time by splashing out on all the branded toys and gadgets to placate the children.
I don’t think this is a phenomenon limited to middle-class, working professionals phoning in their views to Jeremy Vine on Radio 2. I’m always amazed, every Christmas in Niddrie, when parents in the community tell me what their children are getting as presents. I know for a fact that many of them are unemployed, claiming benefits, and are really struggling for money. And yet, the kids have their own laptops, as well as an X-Box/PS3, and carry several hundred pounds worth of phone/mp3 players in the pockets of their £175 G-Star jeans, or designer handbags. It’s perceived to be really important in this culture to be seen with all the right kit, and so people get themselves into greater debt so that they’ll get the respect of the community.
So with British parents searching high and low for answers, where should they be turning? We need to turn to Christ and scripture. Just as human beings were created with a vertical need for companionship with God, they are also created for a horizontal relationship with other people. The Unicef research should be no surprise to bible-believing Christians. Any relationship, if we want to make it work, demands considerable time investment. And the relationship between parent and child is phenomenally important. Parents: no one else can out-influence your children. Ephesians 4 commands fathers to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. How are fathers to father their children, if there’s no time to father them?