Reader thinks editorial hit the mark just right

Dear Editor:

Your editorial was right on the mark. The most important thing that a parent can give a child is a sense of responsibility. When my wife and I married we blended a family of five children ages 6 to 12. The first couple of years Becky was a stay at home mom. As such she was always running to the school to deliver forgotten homework or forgotten lunch money. It was the subject of our first fight.

I firmly believed that the kids would not fail (they were excellent students) for the lack of a homework assignment and they would not starve for lack of lunch.

Teaching kids that they are responsible for the things that they can control must start early.

If they do not learn then they may never learn.

Later as a manager and director, I was responsible for hiring for my department. I could tell the 21-25 year old kids that still lived at home and still had mother to do everything for them almost immediately.

I tried to weed them out in the interview process, because after they were hired, it was often apparent that they would not or could not take responsibility for their actions.

So I hope some parents read you editorial and take it to heart.

Give your kids the greatest gift that you can, a sense that they are responsible for their actions and that their actions can and will make a difference.

Just be sure that the difference is positive.

Wayne Gay

Mount Airy, NC