Training Children

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Training children is a great responsibility that is given to parents by God. He has
 many things to say about the subject. One of my favorites is (Proverbs 22:6) “Train up a
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart.” Notice the words
“train up a child”. Train is another word for teach. Therefore, you are suppose to teach
children not raise children. If God had intended for us to raise children, he would not
have said teach or train a child. My mom has always explained it this way, you raise
tomatoes and you teach or train a child. The major differences between raising tomatoes
and teaching children is this, tomatoes only need water, sunlight, dirt, and fertilizer while
children need love, mercy, discipline, food, clothing, shelter, and guidance just to name a
few things.  In addition, tomatoes can not walk, talk, or learn.

God is not silence on the reasons for teaching children, what to teach children, or
how to discipline them. He will give additional help if you simply ask him.
Remember he is the only perfect parent. It is amazing to me how man who is imperfect
has decided that one of the main forms of discipline talked about in the Bible is wrong. I
am referring to corporal punishment or a spanking. It is spoken of many times in
Proverbs. One notable place is (Proverbs 13:24) “He that spareth his rod hateth his son:
but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” The verse does not give anyone the right
to beat a child, but it does say correct the child. In other words making children listen and
obey shows that you love children. Think about it this way. If you love a young child you
will not let him touch a hot stove. You will instead make the child however necessary get
out of the kitchen. So why would you allow a child to talk on the phone half the night or
hang out with friends who are a bad influence. There are many ways of making children
obey such as talking to them, grounding them, and spanking them. Who cares if the child
says, “I hate you.” Just smile and say, “I love you.” However, even though we are the
parents and we have the right to discipline our children and train our children in the way
we see fit, we should always remember that Jesus says “Fathers, provoke not your
children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” (Colossians 3:21). This means that we should
not put so much pressure on them to be prefect that it is impossible for them to be
successful. Basically remember that just like you, they are still human and they will make
mistakes sometimes.

There are several things that God commands parents  to teach to children. Notice
that God commands the parents to teach the children. I have recently heard someone say parents are only responsible for 20% of teaching children and teachers are responsible for the other 80%. Is this what God’s commandment says? Why is it that God does not give
this commandment to the school teachers or government? Maybe it is because children
learn many valuable skills before going to school. Think about it. Children learn to walk,
talk and play before the age of 4. They do not go to school until at least the age of 5.
Therefore, parents are responsible for teaching children manners before they go to school. In addition, parents are responsible to make sure that their children are getting a good education on reading, mathematics, science, history, language arts, and any other important school subjects. Yes, teachers may be able to teach mathematics to children better than parents, but that does not release them of their God given responsibility. There are still many things that the parent  must do to help insure that their children are learning math. Those things include making sure their children get to bed on time, get up on time, do their homework, listen in class, have all necessary materials, ect. Some may say that they can not make sure that their children listen in class. That statement is false. Children  will behave on average better at school than at home. Therefore, if they are made to listen to instructions at home, they will listen at school.
Parents need to remember that children learn the meanings of words by listening to and watching those around them. A child has never said anything that he or she did not hear somewhere. Therefore, if you want your children to be respectful to others, you must act respectful at all times in front of him or her. If you want your child to learn about Jesus, you must tell them about Jesus. Remember that God commands that you teach your child his commandments. A great suggest is to teach Proverbs chapter 3 to them. This proverb explains how they can live a long healthy prosperous life. Notice how it starts out with obedience, “ My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:” (Proverbs 3:1).

Here are some more reasons to train up a child in the correct way. All children are
the future generation. For example a 5-year-old will be 21-years-old in 16 years. That
means that he will be consider legally an adult. He or she will have all the rights of an adult. Our children will be able responsible for the running of this country. So think about our children’s behavior. Do you really want some of the children in this country to be in charge? Why or why not? I suggest praying and then taking a good long look at your own children. If you like want you see, praise God. If you do not like what you see ask God for help and then follow his instructions.

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