Raquel Martina Martinez: How to Raise a Child

Raquel Martina Martinez: How to Raise a Child: Several years ago, the mother of a newborn was suddenly overcome by the responsibility of raising a child, and she asked me how to go ab...

How to Raise a Child

Several years ago, the mother of a newborn was suddenly overcome by the responsibility of raising a child, and she asked me how to go about it.  

First off, I told her she was a good person and she would be a good mother, but a good compass is to think forward and decide what kind of grownup she wanted her baby to be one day.

If she wanted her child to be a kind adult, then train the child to be kind.  If she wanted her child to be intelligent, then teach the child to read and learn and be curious.  If she wanted her child to be polite, then teach the child manners. 

All of these traits have to be taught through example as well.

If she wanted her child to believe in God, then she had to go and take the child to church. She had to show and live a Godly life.  If she wanted her child not to use vulgar language or watch objectionable shows, then the mother could not prohibit the child and then use that language and watch those shows herself.

It’s the same with eating broccoli or learning to like the ends of a loaf of bread, exercising and learning how to say the Pledge of Allegiance.  Respect goes both ways; what is respectful for the parent is respectful for the child. A parent cannot say one thing and then do the opposite.

I did warn her that each child is born with their own personality, and there might be contradictory natures, especially when the child hits the stinky teenaged years, but if the parent starts with the first diaper change, she might have a fighting chance of leading the child in the right direction. Never forget, you are the parent and the child expects you to parent.

I asked her if this was helpful, and she nodded, a smile on her face. She asked me how I got to be so wise. I tried to teach my three to be truthful, so I had to be truthful to this young mom – trial and error.  Mostly trial and a little error.

Raquel Martina Martinez: The Insidious Abuse

Raquel Martina Martinez: The Insidious Abuse: There are moments in your life when you realize you’ve been walking around with your eyes half closed, seeing and feeling only what you wa...

The Insidious Abuse

There are moments in your life when you realize you’ve been walking around with your eyes half closed, seeing and feeling only what you want to admit to yourself.

Several years ago, I was sitting on my bed, watching a special on spousal physical and sexual abuse, feeling self-righteous that even though I had survived a terrible marriage, it wasn’t abusive.

Our divorce was taking twice as long to finalize than it should, but it gave me time to heal from the marriage and for the sadness to abate.   

As the show went to commercial, they announced the second half of the special would focus on emotional abuse, the one where the blows to the victim target the inside and not the skin.  

I considered turning the TV off; after all, it didn’t apply to me, but in my laziness, I didn’t get up in time. As I reached for the remote, it was like I had been sideswiped by an oncoming auto. It was like someone had turned the camera and was filming me.  With my finger on the off button, I realized they were talking about me.

I had survived a marriage rife with emotional abuse: the façade where the spouse charms the world and is the total opposite person at home with his wife, the need to subjugate a ‘strong’ woman and find her emotional weaknesses to whittle away at her self-esteem until she doubts her self-worth without him, the devious ways of confusing her reality and gaslighting her until she believes all their marital problems are her fault and his infidelities are his due.  

The list went on and on, and I started to bawl.  This was me.  

I escaped my hell only because he no longer needed me.  He had found someone else to “love.” Knowing it would only be a matter of time before she realized what he was truly like and send him packing, I prepared myself for the inevitable.  He would try me again; after all, I had believed his lies for twenty-nine years.

She did.  He tried me again, but by then, my eyes were wide open. I realized I wasn’t the bad person; he was, and he was not coming near me, ever again.  

Raquel Martina Martinez: To a Humble Man

Raquel Martina Martinez: To a Humble Man: There are times when you don’t have anything to say.   There’s this blank page in your brain that refuses to light up with words.   Th...