Sometimes, as a Mom, I get big sloppy kisses from my 5-year-old, or special art from my 1st Grader, or a, "Mom, you're the best!" from one of my older boys.

But very often, I get "BUT MOM..." or tears, or frustration from my kids, because very early on, I learned an important lesson in parenting: Doing the right thing is very often NOT the popular thing. I think I'm a pretty fair and fun parent overall, but very often my children need me to set limits that are not fun for anyone (least of all me). Sometimes, it's actually harder and more inconvenient for me to keep them from something they had planned on doing because they were irresponsible.

I don't allow my kids to constantly eat whatever junk comes their way, I don't let them watch hours and hours of TV, and I don't let them stay up too late. One of my 13 year old's friends asked me the other day, "Mrs. Wright, why don't you let your kids watch _________ on TV? In fact, why don't you guys do many of the video games and TV that I do every day? Why do you set such strict bed times?"

I explained that our family is different, and every family has standards that we choose to live by. His parents have generally chosen to let him pick his own forms of entertainment, we, on the other hand, are more protective. I explained to our young friend that we can always lose our innocence, but we can never get it back, and it's my job, in every way, to protect my kids from the things in this world that could harm them. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. Things that get into our minds, especially inappropriate things, are very, very hard to remove after all.

So, for all of you parents out there losing the popular vote, I say, "Way To GO!!!" We will raise a generation of young people who have not lost their innocence and who have guarded their hearts, and I can't think of a more worthy cause to be UNPOPULAR for!"