About ten years ago, in preparation for a large seminar in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I sent a questionnaire to the pastor to give to the hundreds of young school children who would be in attendance. We first asked the children, “Are you satisfied with your home life, are you happy, or would you like to change some things about it?” Only one or two kids said they would not change anything. We then asked the kids who were not happy to write down three things that if changed would make them happy at home. We were shocked to see that nearly every one shared the same perspective on their first answer. In one way or another, they said:
“If my Mama and Daddy just loved each other, or wouldn’t fight all the time.”
A prominent second answer was, “If my daddy wasn’t so angry.”
Quite a few said, “If my parents would listen to me,” or “spend more time with me.”
Some said, “If my parents weren’t such hypocrites.”
Hardly any of the kids recorded anything frivolous and self-centered.