As I said a moment ago, that doesn't mean we need to totally abandon structure for them. We can't. An unguided, haphazard existence in those formative years can be just as dangerous and disfiguring for the adult years as one overly regimented and suffocating.

That's where we as adults have to do our work on our children's behalf. Children must have responsible parents watching over them, disciplining them, lovingly and actively guiding them toward a well-rounded existence as a grown up.

They'll have the rest of their lives to be adults, and Lord knows most of us should have an understanding of how difficult that can be in the best of circumstances.

When you get right down to it, you teach your children the difference between right and wrong the best you can and then put the rest in God's hands. As with most other worthy things in this life, being a good parent means having faith.

The window of opportunity for them to see the world through a child's eyes and live life with a child's heart is here and gone in the blink of an eye, and once gone, cannot be recaptured.

I feel sure that if he were able to, Michael Jackson would be the first to testify to that fact.