Must you LOVE your child???

[Franco C]

Do you think by automation of birth, you must *love* your children. What if they are really bad people? Do you guys believe in earning respect/love or just giving it. Myself, I don't care, blood or not you have to earn it and be worthy of it, just like anyone else.

 

[rudedawg]

Isn't your love to a child called unconditional? I think you would be a sorry ass parent no matter how fucked up your kid was not to love them.

I had unconditional love explained to me like this once:
If your child was drowning in a lake and you swam like a rock, you would still jump in to try to save them.

 

[saint808]

you will love your child for what they are... if you are lucky enough you will also like them for who they are and become.

 

[Franco C]

I know what you are saying, of course there will always be a love for the child, but I'm saying respect disowning wise, if you child starts murdering people for no reason. (Of course when he is aged)

 

[Zirakzigil]

I agree totally that respect must always be earned. I try to dissociate my emotions from someone if I must judge them critically. For instance, if a family member committed a grievous crime, I'd turn them in much as I would a stranger (the difference being, I'd aid the family member emotionally and give them support).

The difference is children - kids need unconditional love to grow up straight. Too much anxiety as a child is correlated with antisocial behavior in adulthood (see January's scientific american - I think it was Jan)

 

[Franco C]

Ah, of course love the child, I wasn't talking about the kid misbehaves and you scold him and threaten him, I was speaking moreso when the child is already developed and can make decisions themselves, out fo the house, that sort of thing.

 

[rudedawg]

No matter what wouldn't you still love, have a place in your heart for that child/adult that you fathered/borne?

 

[Zirakzigil]

Ah, of course love the child, I wasn't talking about the kid misbehaves and you scold him and threaten him, I was speaking moreso when the child is already developed and can make decisions themselves, out fo the house, that sort of thing.

In that case I agree, my respect must be maintained through an honorable lifestyle. My dad or son rapes a woman, there's no way I'm not turning him in.

 

[Mikey]

To love or not to love. You MUST love your child. No matter how bad they become. Take John Walker Lindh for example. His parents still love him so, even though the country and I hate this traitorous piece of shit. They can be extremely upset, disappointed, or unwilling to accept his pentance for his actions, but it will never change their love for him. Alot of parents of deathrow inmates are the same way, and I too would feel the same, I may get mad, disappointed, or hate what they have become, but honestly, I would still love my child.

 

[PinK233]

My mom always tells me, no matter how old you are, you'll still be a little kid in my eyes...I don't think a parent's love for a child changes as they get older and out on their own...it's second nature to love your child in my opinion, they are apart of you...although there are cases where a parent can't have any love for their child, which is why sick things such as child abuse and even the murder of your own child exist...