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By Saadia Razi
It's almost 5:30pm. I'm rushing out of the office, late again. There's no deadline or specific rush. No one will really even notice if I am a few minutes late into the house. "But the kids will be alone," I always tell my husband. I hate having my kids stay home alone a minute longer than necessary. Maybe I'm a little too protective, but they're my babies. Granted, they are getting pretty big, but always babies to me. I was never a latchkey kid. I grew up with a mother who was home everyday to greet me at the bus stop. She'd usher me into the house and fix me a little snack as we discussed my day. This was until I became a teenager and loathed the "meddling" of my parents in my ever-so-important life. Still, it wasn't until I went away to college that I really came to appreciate having Mom at home for me. Now, with two elementary-school age kids myself, I worry about the fact that they spend so much time on their own. I eventually got past the guilt of working…in today's world, it's difficult to avoid. I know that my first and most important role is as a mother. As a Muslim, it is especially crucial that I never forget this. I worry most about protecting and even sheltering these beautiful little people I have the blessing to raise. I read an article the other day about latchkey kids. The time between the end of a school day and the end of a workday is the most critical for these children. What they do or don't do, who they are with or not with, whether they are supervised or not will all impact greatly whether they become troubled kids or not. Those few hours can shape them. We all want to believe that our kids can handle themselves for a few hours. That they can behave just until we can make it home to them. Probably most of them can manage just fine. Still, with what we continue to see in the news we must be alert. Children have access to information people of my generation didn't have till we were adults, some things we never knew. Before the Internet, how would one know where to go to find bomb-building recipes? A few decades ago, how could we have viewed graphic nudity and sexual content in our own living rooms? Before Howard Stern and other shock jocks, not to mention so many music artists, where could we have learned so much useless (to say the least) knowledge? Today it is possible to idle away your entire day with just such material, often without even intending to. When I am away at work, I understand the value of the few precious hours I have each night with my family. I am also acutely aware of how much I have to make them learn and integrate into their lives. And I am not blind to the fact that kids are kids and when I am not home, they will undoubtedly get themselves into trouble. I cannot ask that they not be curious, or that they never be tempted, but I cannot watch them every moment either. Balance. Everything is about balance. It is what Islam teaches - everything in moderation. A little television is okay. A little independence for kids is okay. A few mistakes are even okay. But everyday I must look into myself and my Islam and reaffirm that what I am doing is best for me and my family. My guide in this life must always be Islam and not the overly materialistic world we live in. It is a small thing, but too often we forget what is truly important, both in this life and the next. Everyday I pray that when I leave them at home alone I am doing the right thing. Some days I feel more sure than others
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