1. Discipline them: Of course disciplining our children is a given in any home. But we need to ask ourselves if we are disciplining our children properly? Who rules the perch in your home? How often do your children tell you what THEY are going to do? Did you know children want discipline and structure in their life? When we take the time to discipline our children, and on a consistent basis, we are actually helping them to develop their character? Correct discipline is a necessary part of the growth process and we shouldn't hold back on fulfilling our responsibilities as parents. The less we spend disciplining and counseling our children the less they will feel loved by us. 2. Be a good example: Children and teenagers sometimes do dangerous and foolish things, and that is because they do not understand or THINK about the consequences. Young minds do not have the wisdom to discern properly about the real dangers of drugs, sex, etc. Just hanging out with the wrong crowd of kids can lead our children down a destructive path. The proper correction a child receives must be consciously taught starting when they are very young, and this means we need to take our role as parents more seriously. We are to be the good example for our children to follow. We wouldn't want to give our responsibility to someone else, would we? Just as God trains and corrects us to make us better people, so too, must we as parents discipline our children to give them the wisdom and common sense to know from right and wrong. We are in control of our childrens destiny. Let's show by example. 3. Teach them about God: Parenting is never easy, especially when we actually put forth energy to do it. That is why God has given His guidance to help direct us along the way. God's guidance can become a father's spiritual authority. A father should use that authority wisely. Firstly by protecting his sons, and especially daughters from outside influences. The whole purpose of parental discipline is to help children grow and learn to be honest, loving adults, is it not? One of the greatest responsibilities we have as parents is to teach our children the value of wisdom and spiritual truth. Where do you think wisdom comes from? Parents have wisdom and that wisdom can get passed on to children but in the end all wisdom and truth come from God. [Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4] 4. Show them love: How hard can it be to show our children how much we love them? Well we have to take the time to show love rather than buy love. More often than not, our busy schedules refrain us from spending quality time with our children, so what do we do? We buy them stuff. It's great that we want our children to have things but lets not let those things take the place of our love. Schedule a convenient time, at least once a week, to spend the whole day with your child. You may not know this but our children do enjoy hanging out with us once in a while, especially when we treat them with respect and love. We do this by showing interest in their interests even if it seems wild or frivolous to us. We ought to try and be more understanding of their needs. 5. Tell them no: Why are we so afraid to tell our children no? Did you know that most of the time when our children act out in dress, attitude, behavior, drugs, sex, they are actually calling out for love. That's all they want! Whose responsibility is it to give them the love they deserve? Children learn at a very young age that by using manipulative behaviors it will get us to pay more attention to them. And it works! But screaming and nagging doesn't. Ignoring them doesnt work either. Our children wish we would tell them no. All they want is our attention. [Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will be a delight to your soul. Proverbs 29:17] 6. Submit to one another: Everyone in the home should submit to each other out of mutual respect for one another. It is not just the wife who needs to submit to her husband but the husband to the wife, the mother to the children, dad to the children, and children to siblings and parents. What's going to happen in a home where everyone succumbs to each other? There would be peace, tranquility, happiness, and satisfaction. This is what God wants for the family. [But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. James 3:17-18] 7. Be their friend: First we have to be parents and then it is perfectly ok to be friends too. We want them to trust and confide in us, dont we? Yes, and that is why we need to know who are children are by getting involved in their life. We shouldn't ignore them, reject them, or discourage them in their endeavors. We need to put forth a little bit more effort to SHOW love to our children, and we will see that we'll get the respect we want and need. Fathers do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. Colossians 3:21 |
