By Larry P. Stover,

Pastor at Praise Park Ministries Church of the Nazarene

I hear adults and parents, from time to time, putting their children down. They make comments like, “You’ll never amount to anything” or “I wish you had never been born. You are always in the way.” It really irritates me when a parent refers to a child as “stupid.”

Young children especially, are being molded and shaped daily by what they hear and experience. It is a tragedy when they are caught up in an environment saturated with criticism, ridicule and hostility. And then we wonder why our children grow up feeling sorry for themselves, guilty for things they never did, consumed with an antagonistic anger determined to get revenge on those around, innocent or not. When that anger explodes, the headlines remind us of an imperfect world we all call home.

There is a silver lining that gives me hope. I experience it on the T-ball fields in Valley Grande as well as in our schools.

T-ball is very different from traditional Little League in that kids bat every inning and there is no record kept of “outs or runs scored.” It is all about learning fundamentals and having fun.

Rather than a negative environment, it is so positive. It is an atmosphere of encouragement and praise! Whether they hit the ball 10 feet or 100 feet, the fans start cheering them on. The coaches and parents that assist on the field are area, continually patting them on the head or back commending them for a job well done.

This is not a time for criticism or ridicule. These young athletes will one day represent our middle and high schools in a diverse array of athletic endeavors. While they are learning the fundamentals, let’s heap praise on them. It can make a difference in what they consider doing in the future.

I also see this in the art room at Valley Grande Elementary School. We have nearly 200 students in kindergarten through second grade who come to art class. I am amazed at the budding talent that many of these students possess. When I am there or with the students at some other activity, I always look for the positive things to say to our children. You never know, there may be another Thomas Kinkade among us.

It’s all about building self-esteem in a child. I choose to encourage and praise the children of Valley Grande. Every one of them is an awesome gift from God. It’s another reason why our community is “Simply Beautiful!”