17) PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY: Do we have a responsibility to search out good and virtuous music? What responsibilities do parents have to teach their children on these subjects?

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1. The child will emulate the good of the parent, or fill the empty vacuum the parent left behind with popular (bad) music. Popular is the easy access music, so they will gravitate toward it if not taught otherwise. Even if a parent isn’t particularly interested in music, they must hunt for wholesome music of holy genres for their children to enjoy, and some of their children will certainly be interested in music.

   Parents cannot simply turn on the radio now and then, they must pre-screen music to ensure the home, car, anywhere the sacred family is, is sacred. Parents must also know what is on their children’s music devices, and forbid evil. It is the right of a parent to rule over the child in righteousness. Children should not and cannot be trusted to make all of their decisions wisely on their own.

   Agency must be allowed, but there are always consequences with the exercise of agency, for ‘mercy cannot rob justice.’ For example, ‘we don’t hear that in this house’, or ‘I won’t pay for you to have a device you use for unwholesome purposes.’ Prophets have long taught that computers should not be in the bedroom. Now we see that Wi-Fi passwords must be kept secret, and we should allow children to be children, and not expect them to handle the full burdens of complete autonomy.

   It would be most helpful if the parent encouraged training in musical instruments so the children can get first hand experience of what goes into music, and first hand experience of joy in classical music.

   The parent should show the deep joy that can come from the many flavors of classical music, and all the tender emotion it can create. Further, the parent can show, with scientific musical training, how void of depth popular music is.

   Children use music to regulate emotions. The parents must attend to the emotional health of the children, or the children will rebel through music. The parent can’t solve every problem of the child, but it can be an active participant in the child’s life. This doesn’t need to be helicopter parenting, this can be part of what the prophets have urged when they told us to seek wholesome recreational activities as a family. Everyone needs recreation. Life is hard, we get broken down, the family is the primary source for learning how to access the healing balm of wholesome recreation.

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