How do parents determine whether they have been successful in raising their children? By more than a two-to-one margin (62% to 28%), they define success as having done the best they could, regardless of the outcomes. Less than three out of ten parents say the fruit of their efforts is the defining factor.

--The Barna Group; The Barna Update: February 28, 2005; "Parents Describe How They Raise Their Children."

I hear a lot of guilty parents saying "it's not our fault."  Although American parents are gravely concerned that their kids are not being prepared for life, they now say that if the kids are not prepared, the parents are not to blame.
They're not?
Well, whose job is it to prepare them?  Contrary to popular belief and practice, it is the parents' job, not the school's or church's.  Parents who have done poorly should admit it and take steps to mend what they've left broken, rather than blame the school, the church, social factors or the nature of their child.  The parents polled above think that "success" is trying to help a child learn to read--as opposed to the child actually reading.

Perhaps people really don't think it's possible to teach a child anything.

(Now would be a good time to read the Bible with your kids.)