101,380 HOURS

From the time children are born until they reach the age of 18, they are awake 118,260 hours (allowing eight hours for sleep each night).  Out of that 118,000 hours, approximately 15,000 hours are spent in public school; and, if they never missed a Sunday or Wednesday church class in their lives, 1,872 hours are spent in Bible classes.  That leaves 101,388 waking hours that they are under parental supervision. 

Mothers and fathers, if our children go wrong, we cannot lay the greatest blame on public school teachers, church leaders, or Bible teachers.  School had them only 12% of the time.  Bible teachers had them 1.5% of the time.  Parents have children 85% of the time. 

We have the greatest opportunity, the first duty, and the most responsibility.  We cannot shift their care to school, day care, Bible school, grandparents or any other place.

How are using those 101,388 hours?  The average American child spends more than 24,000 hours in front of a television set by age 18 (more than all hours in school and Bible class combined).  Is this where we want our children to learn about life?  Are the morals and ethics it interweaves into plots what we want for our offspring?  Likely, “the most dangerous thing in our houses is the remote control.”

Let us turn the TV off and take time to talk, teach, take, and train our children during the precious and fleeting hours God gives us with our precious treasures.

—Selected