Q:
What do you say about sending a child to stay at a friend for Shabbos?
A:
I don’t recommend letting children go away for Shabbos to somebody else’s home, even if they are observant. I don’t approve of it! It’s a recent practice that families exchange children for Shabbos and it’s not something I approve of. First of all, your children won’t obey them like they obey you. And when they play ball, like they play ball out here in the service road, it can be very dangerous. So, if it’s your own son, you’re able to scold him, and you’ll watch him. But that person, a relative or a friend where the child is staying for Shabbos, he won’t be able to scold him as much as you. And the child will run into the street; it’s dangerous.
Secondly, you never know what your child picks up in other homes. You’ll be amazed at what your child can pick up. Sometimes he can pick up a terrible thing that will ruin his life. I’ve heard such stories. What’s doing in your home, you know, but what’s doing in somebody else’s home, you don’t know! I don’t approve of it.
TAPE # 133 (August 1976)
