"Uh-oh!"

My Bear is the funniest little guy. He is now in that stage where he says "uh-oh". He uses the phrase in the appropriate manner - he doesn't just say it nilly-dilly. He says it when he's dropped something. He says it when something falls down. He says it when he knows he's done something wrong. Yes, he's learning that business of right versus wrong.

It's amazing how some people never seem to learn that lesson. I rented "The Emperor's Club" this weekend. It's a movie about a boy's school and how one young man ends up cheating during a contest. His instructor doesn't rat him out though. Turns out this young man grows up and seems to redeem himself...but then falls back to his cheating ways. He never learned the difference between right and wrong.

I'm sure a lot of folks have their own perception of what's right and wrong nowadays. Seems that back decades ago everyone had a specific code of ethics and morals. It was when folks were more the same than different. Most families attended church. Most kids did chores. Most moms were homemakers. It was a simpler time. I'm sure it was complicated back then. I'm sure everyone had their personal traumas and dramas, but for the most part as we look back it was simple.

In the 21st century, it seems that people define their own standards. We've got a nation of diverse ethnicities. We've got people who believe in very different religions (if any that is). We've got parents who don't get their kids immunized. We've got adults who think adultery is okay. We've got a whole slew of the nation who has their own way of thinking.

Don't get me wrong...I enjoy the fact that people have different views. But it makes being a parent difficult when I want to bring my kids up with certain ideas of what's right and wrong. There are so many ways my kids are exposed to inappropriate behavior. I can only shelter them so much. Now that my daughter is in preschool I know that she's exposed to a lot of other kids who've been brought up differently. She's now having to decide on her own what's right and wrong.

I don't let them watch any of the kids networks (Cartoon Network, abc Family, Nickelodeon, Disney) because there is horrible behavior in so many of those shows. Cartoon characters that talk back. Sassy talk and sassy words (stupid, idiot, hate). Yes, I expose my kids to these words but my daughter (who is 4) knows that we don't use those words in our house. When we're out and about and we overhear someone using a "not so nice" word, my daughter will oftentimes look at me. I'll raise my eyebrows and she'll nod and shake her head. She knows it's a words we don't use and she acknowledges it. That's how we distinguise right and wrong for our kids. We explain that other people might say certain words or do certain behaviors, but "we don't do that in our house."

Yes...the phrase "uh-oh" is just the beginning. This business of right and wrong takes a lifetime. I feel like I've got my daughter on a good path so far. Now I've got to work on my little guy. Hopefully he'll watch his sister and learn. I know that it's a long hard path trying to steer these little ones into decision makers that we can be proud of.