If you read Why Children are Like Pitbulls - Part 1 you'll already know the role that training plays when it comes to children, or Pitbulls for that matter. Usually, training is based upon a presupposition though. It is the view of the child or dog that the parent or owner already has that comes out in the training, or lack of training.

If a man purchases a Pitbull and believes that they are fighting dogs and good dogs to use as an attack animal, this belief will be manifested in the training that the owner gives the dog. If the owner believes that Pitbulls are just like any other dog can be trained to properly behave, then that goal will also be evident from the training process.

Likewise, there are two main views about children.

BLESSING
CURSE

We will start with the latter view, because it is getting all the more common these days.

CURSE

Many people these days see children as a curse. The reasons will vary, but here are some of them.

Cost too much
Loss or personal freedom
Long-term responsibility
A lot to deal with

To be sure, all of these statements could be true and contain some level of validity. However, when a child is born and the parents view that child as a burden or a curse, that belief is manifested in the way that the parents raise that child.

Please do not get me wrong. Raising children can be a long-term, full-time job full of hard work, but that doesn't mean that we should treat the children like they are the problem. No, if anything, it is the adult with the improper attitude that has the problem, and the problem is not the child.

Far too often I can see the frustrated parents talking to their children in inappropriate tones with words that are even more than inappropriate. Image how that child will feel after hearing a decade of that language directed at them. Eventually, the mindset of the parent becomes a 'self-fulfilling prophecy."

The parent believes that their children are a curse, so they treat them like they are a curse until the become a curse.

It's just like a Pitbull owner believing that their dog is a mean dog so they treat it like it is a mean dog until it becomes a mean dog.

And in the end, they both say, "See, I told you so. I was right about that!"

Yeah, incredible, isn't it?

Then that child can grow up and be a curse to their parents, a curse to themselves, and a curse to the rest of the world.

BLESSING

As a man who already has four children with a fifth one on the way, you can probably guess what viewpoint I take on children. I believe that they are each a blessing. Yeah, they have a sinful and selfish nature, and things are not always easy, but that does not mean that they are not a blessing.

Neither @papa-pepper nor mama-pepper would "send any of our children back." They are each amazing little individuals, and we love each of them dearly. Even our one year old little girl has already proven herself to be a giant blessing to our family. When another child asks mama-pepper for something, often the littlest girl will arise and grab it for them before mama-pepper even finishes what she was working on.

These little ones of ours are very helpful, grateful, obedient, kind, and generous. If we had spent the past six years treating them as if they were little curses that we had to deal with, we may not have had the same results.

Basically, a child is a precious thing. They are beautiful little people that need care, love, guidance, affection, tenderness, and even forgiveness. We are to model appropriate behavior and instruct our children on how to best follow our example. The investment of time up front during the little years can pay off big-time in the long run. Too often I see parents who have let a child live too disobediently for too long. The parent has now been getting more and more frustrated for years, and the damage has already been done, to both the child, the parent, and their relationship.

Our little boy is learning how not to steal and lie right now. We never taught him how, that came out on its own. Now though, as the parents, we have to teach this little guy how to choose not to give in to such temptations, or he'll grow up to be a curse instead of a blessing.

This is where being proactive comes in. I could just believe that our son will do fine on his own and not take the time to train him not to lie or steal. However, I know that if he gets in those habits now, it will be hard for him to give them up later. I used to lie and steal a lot, long into my adult life. If he can learn to make better choices now when it comes to those things, it will help him out a lot in the long run.

CONCLUSION

Parents have a choice to make in the way that they teach and train their children. However, the underlying beliefs of the parents about that child will most likely be evident in the way that the parents teach and train their children. I choose to believe that my children are blessings and not curses, and I will therefore raise them as such. It may be a view that is losing popularity these days, but it doesn't mean that the truth about the matter has changed. It only means that others are choosing to believe something else.

As I shared last time, the way that children and pitbulls are either trained or not trained can make a world of difference in how they behave when they grow older. The underlying belief of the parent or owner will be what influences the training.