By Susan Ciancio
Most of us want our children to treat others well, to listen and act respectfully, and to make good decisions based on morality. Children are indeed like sponges. After they are born, they begin the process of learning who they are, what their role is in society, how they fit in, how to behave, and more. Childhood is a phenomenal time of learning about and exploring the world—and it’s a vital time for moral development as well. But as they grow older and head to school, they face influences from nefarious sources, including organizations like Planned Parenthood that work their “poison” into educational programs.
A Psychology Today article about teaching morals explains that “around the age of five or six, children have developed a conscience—which is actually an internalized set of rules that you have taught them. Your regulations become her inner stop sign and will direct her…. Initially, she adopts your rules to please you. Later on, following these directives becomes a part of who she is.”
In order to help ensure that these moral behaviors become part of who our children are, we must teach them, we must exhibit these behaviors, and we must allow them to spend time with others who also exhibit moral behaviors. Providing children with good examples is of utmost importance, as research has shown that “from very early on, children are not simply passive observers, registering the superficial appearance of things. Rather, they are building explanatory systems—implicit theories—that organize their knowledge.”
In other words, what they witness becomes part of them. If they repeatedly witness immorality, there is a greater likelihood of them becoming desensitized to it and then emulating this behavior without even knowing that it’s wrong.
That is why strong leadership within the family and good teachers in school are vital for a child’s development. At the Culture of Life Studies Program, we factor this important research into the creation of our pro-life lessons, and it’s one of the primary reasons that our lessons begin as early as pre-kindergarten. We understand the impact of teaching children culture-of-life concepts from the time they are small. The world—through school and through peers—will attempt to influence how they think and behave. Laying a solid foundation will help children make better decisions in life and will teach them the moral values that are so crucial—and that seem to be lacking—in today’s society.
When children learn empathy, love, and good moral values, they begin to feel a sense of belonging—to their family, to their community, and to the wider human family. That feeling of belonging then translates to their sense of belonging within the Church and as children of God. When children feel secure not only in their parents’ love but in God’s love, they internalize that love and are better able to resist temptations from the outside world.
And today the temptations are ubiquitous. We see it in schools, on TV, in movies, and from organizations like Planned Parenthood that target children and youth. In its push for a hedonistic society where people should do what makes them feel good, Planned Parenthood attempts to normalize immorality and evils, including abortion, contraception, and “sex-reassignment” surgery—and it does so from a very early age. Why? Because it knows that the earlier you reach children, the more ingrained a philosophy will become.
On a web page specifically geared toward instructing parents about how to talk to their kids about sexuality, Planned Parenthood breaks down topics into age groups about what children “should know about their bodies and sexuality.” It states that children ages 5-8 should be taught that “people can love people of the same sex and people of the opposite sex.” In the next age range (9-12), Planned Parenthood begins discussion of contraception and sexuality. Kids ages 12-15 then learn that “some people’s gender identity differs from their biological sex.”
The grooming starts at a very young age, but it all begins when children are in preschool, as Planned Parenthood also suggests talking to your preschooler about which gender they “identify” with. Though combating today’s woke culture may seem like an uphill battle, we must never tire of teaching our children moral truths. In an age-appropriate way, we must educate children about the beauty of their bodies, the sanctity of married love, the truths of biology, and the sacredness of all human beings—from the first moment of creation until death. If we do not teach the truths and beauty of our faith, our children will absorb the lies that the world wants them to believe.
Our children are immense treasures—gifts given to us by God. If we want them to understand the inherent evil within organizations like Planned Parenthood, if we want them to love themselves as they are, and if we want them to follow God instead of the woke culture, we must begin teaching them when they are young. They deserve nothing less.
This article first appeared in LifeSiteNews at lifesitenews.com/opinion/keep-planned-parenthoods-transgender-grooming-away-from-our-children/?utm_source=news&utm_campaign=catholic.