Find Out If You’re a “Weird” Parent—According to One Podcast Host

Sullivan’s comments were directed toward homeschooling moms, who she thinks are “weird” because they want to be with their kids all day! She said:

You would not believe how many people in Bible study homeschool their kids, and you just think, ah, I worry about that . . .

I just think homeschooling is a bad idea from soup to nuts. I don’t care if you’re a nuclear physicist. I think it’s just [expletive] weird as [expletive] that you want your kids around you all day, every day, and all night . . .

For me personally . . . I would have gotten up on my hands and knees and strapped them to my back and crawled to get them to school every day, just to get them where I wasn’t. So, I don’t trust somebody that wants to be with their kids 24/7. I think a lot of dumb people do it because it’s just easier, and that’s a concern . . .

I just can’t think of very many good things about homeschooling.

God’s Word tells us children are a blessing to be desired.

Of course, her ridiculous comments had many homeschool moms laughing (I’ve spoken to enough homeschool moms, and watched my wife homeschool our five children for several years, to know that no one homeschools because “it’s just easier!”). But it also reveals how many, especially those on the left like her, view children: They are a burden, an inconvenience, and they just get in the way. God’s Word tells us children are a blessing to be desired.

One of our writers shared with me that her mom (who has 15 kids and homeschooled them all) is part of a class with several other middle-aged women who, when chatting between classes, often mention that they actively encourage young people not to have kids but rather to get dogs instead because kids are just too hard (a view our writer’s mom heartily disagrees with!). Sadly, it’s an increasingly common view.

Contrast that message, and Sullivan’s anti-homeschooling rant, with Jesus’ words:

Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there. (Matthew 19:13–15)

When children were brought to Jesus, the disciples treated them as an interruption to the important work that Jesus was doing (in context, Jesus is teaching the Pharisees, surrounded by large crowds). Instead of ignoring the children or shooing them away so He could continue teaching the adults, Jesus takes the time to rebuke His disciples for their attitude, take the children, lay His hands on them, and bless them. He valued them and treated them—and their interruption—as a good thing, worthy of His time and attention.

This attitude toward children is seen throughout Scripture. In God’s “very good” (Genesis 1:31) original creation, Adam and Eve were told (after God said He “blessed them”) to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28), and Noah and his family were told the same thing after the Flood (Genesis 9:1). Psalm 127 says children are a heritage from the Lord, and a man is blessed when he fills his quiver with them. Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth are all examples of women who longed for children and were eventually given a son, with great rejoicing.

In a biblical worldview, children are a gift from God to be rejoiced over, cherished, discipled, nurtured, loved, and yes, given time and attention.

In a biblical worldview, children are a gift from God to be rejoiced over, cherished, discipled, nurtured, loved, and yes, given time and attention. But this doesn’t necessarily come naturally. We’re all sinners with selfish hearts turned inward, desiring to meet our own wants and needs, rather than serving others and sacrificially giving of ourselves. It’s interesting that the Holy Spirit, through Paul, instructs older women to teach younger women to “love their children” (Titus 2:4). It’s not always easy, but it’s a joy when we live submitted to Christ, ordering our lives with Jesus first, others second, and ourselves last. My wife, Mally, powerfully teaches this concept with real examples from 50 years in ministry and marriage, as well as decades as a mother and grandmother, in her new book Home Fires. That order is backward to what the world tells you, but that’s what honors God and brings lasting joy and eternal reward. (If you haven’t read her book yet, you really should! It’s filled with challenging teaching and encouraging stories from her life and Scripture passages.)

Personally, I would say that the podcaster is focused on self and wants to put herself first in everything!

So if you’re a “weird” parent who likes being around your kids and you homeschool, I want to highlight a few of our homeschool resources for you as “back to school” approaches:

• Answers Bible Curriculum for Homeschool (designed for K–5th grade). This four-year, through-the-Bible curriculum is chronological and packed with doctrine, theology, apologetics, biblical worldview, and the gospel right from Genesis. There’s nothing else like it on the market, and you will love it. Each lesson also comes with an entertaining teaching video from AiG’s Bryan Osborne and Avery Foley, which kids absolutely love.
• Science curricula that teaches young-earth creation and a biblical worldview. Our publisher, Master Books, offers a wide range of science curricula that all teaches Genesis as literal history and is filled with biblical worldview teaching. Whether you’re looking for general science for your elementary student, anatomy for your middle school student, or specialties like forensics or astrophysics for your high school student, you can find it on our online store. And you can trust that everything will point your kids to the truth and authority of God’s Word.
• Adam’s Chart of History. This is a fun resource to help families establish a proper chronology for history from creation through the modern era. This vintage resource has been republished with 21 panels of detailed, full-color drawings of various stages of history, from Adam and Eve to the late nineteenth century, with handwritten commentary throughout so you can wrap your walls with history and make connections you never noticed before.
• Explore Days and High School Science Labs. Our Explore Days at the Creation Museum are hands-on science education from a biblical worldview. Choose between Explore Jr., for ages 5–12, and Explore for 11–18-year-olds. For high school students, we also offer labs so they can enjoy hands-on exploration and collaboration with other students. You can learn more on our Creation Museum website.

You can find all of our curricula by visiting the curriculum tab on our online store.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.