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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 5THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 20184 Raising children is an experi- ence like few others. Watching your child grow into adulthood can leave you beaming with pride or wanting to pull your hair out by the roots with frus- tration--sometimes all in the same day. Still, all too often I hear words like entitled and spoiled thrown around when describing young people today, but is this generation really any worse than the generations who have come before? That seems to be the way of things; the older generation railing against the ways of the younger. Perhaps, though, as my own child--who is taller than me now, and speaks of his future no longer as a distant and fuzzy, shapeless vision, but with an immanency that leaves me feeling like time has kicked in high gear and I can't find the brake--has me a touch intro- spective. As our children grow up, we can look back with the benefit of hindsight and see the mo- ments where we really nailed it as a parent, and other times we might wish we'd have handled a situation differently. It's only natural, after all. To err is hu- man, as they say. Recently, reports emerged of a scuffle between two parents during a hockey game at the arena here in town. It apparent- ly started with shouting before moving to pushing and shov- ing. Police were called, but by the time they arrived, the scuffle had ceased and no one would come forward with details. More and more often you hear about parents demonstrat- ing less than sportsmanlike behaviour--fighting with other parents, coaches and officials. And this behaviour isn't limited to hockey. When own my son played football, I witnessed a yelling match between two par- ents--a grown man and woman shouting in each other's faces. Soon one of the coaches joined in and the woman's teenage son. The whole thing left me sick to my stomach. And if I was so disturbed by what I had wit- nessed, I can only imagine what it must have been like for the kids. Kids who look to those same adults for examples of right and wrong, a sense of se- curity. How do we teach our children to grow into mature, compas- sionate, contributing adults if said adults won't emulate the same behaviour? How do we teach children to resolve con- flict effectively if we the parents don't demonstrate the necessary actions? I suppose it's only natural for parents to dream of their chil- dren becoming athletic stars. After all, who wouldn't want to see their child succeed at something they love? How- ever, statistically, they probably won't. And I'm fairly certain that screaming and fighting with other parents won't help in that regard, either. If we want to raise respon- sible, hard-working people, who resolve conflict like ration- al adults, then we must behave like responsible, hard working people, who resolve conflict like rational adults. Editorial By Dawn Brown Raise the bar to raise a generation Distributed to every home in Acton and area, as well as adjoining communities. Contact us: 379 Queen Street East Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 Tel: 519-853-0051 Fax: 519-853-0052 E-mail: General: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com (including Advertising and Circulation) Editoral: tannereditor@bellnet.ca Deadline: Advertising and Editorial TUESDAY at 9 a.m. Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. Publisher: Ted Tyler Editorial: Dawn Brown, Angela Tyler, Jane Dougan, Vivien Fleisher, Les Schmidt, Harry Rudolfs, Trish Bell, Alex Hilson, Michael Oke Advertising and Circulation: Marie Shadbolt Production: Iain Brennan Beginning of Lent ovEr thE last 20 YEars Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, first day of the begin- nings of the 40 days of Lent which are observed by Christian churches around the world, especially the liturgical churches who follow a calendar. Lent ends on Good Friday before the moveable feast of Easter which occurs on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the 21st of March, so the date of Ash Wednesday also changes each year. The introduction of Lent in the early church follows the teaching of Christ who predicted that when He was gone, His disciples and followers would fast. St. Paul advised Christians to work out their salvation in prayer and patience in watch- ings and fastings. At first fasting was left to the discretion of individual Chris- tians. Regular fasting imposed by the discipline of the Church began first in Gaul (France) in the second century. Diversity of practices sprang up and the Church finally decreed the 40 days of Lent for the sake of uniformity. Why 40 days? The number was chosen in honour of the 40 days fast endured by Christ prior to His public life and in remembrance of the 40 years spent by the Jews in the desert before they entered the promised land. Lent is being observed ecumenically in Acton each Wednes- day at noon when different clergy from the churches join in a Lenten service which changes denominationally each year. This year's services are at St. Joseph's Patron of Canada with all the churches taking part. Although it is often ignored by the secular world, Lent is still very much alive. from the desk of the late Hartley Coles From The New Tanner - February 26, 2009 EDITORS NOTE: The Lenten Services mentioned in the above reprint, continue to this day, but this year are being hosted each Wednesday at noon at St. Alban the Martyr Anglican Church, Acton. PANCAKE DINNER: Shrove Tuesday was celebrated at St. Alban's Church with the annual Pancake Dinner on Tu e s d a y . S h a w n Roworth, Diane Preston, and Glor ia Barker were among those who enjoyed the meal. - Alex Hilson photo