“…for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7) Teaching children to share is one of the big challenges of parenting. Sharing does not come naturally to the old sin nature. We shouldn’t be dismayed, disappointed, or angry when we hear the words, “No, mine,” coming from the mouths of our little ones. Our children are just proving that they inherited their parents’ sinful natures! Children need to be gently […]
Read More →Category: Discipline
The Child Who Delights in Another’s Discipline
I admit it. When I was a kid, I sometimes enjoyed seeing my brother get in trouble. He was an easy-going, good-natured big brother. He even tried his hardest to teach me to do backwards somersaults, and I still had the gall to gloat when he got in trouble! I was definitely not born basically good, no matter what the secular psychologists may say. My old sin nature was up […]
Read More →When the Parent Becomes the Judge
Parents spend a lot of time helping children work through disagreements. Children can be trained to settle many of their own disagreements, but they will need help in learning this process, and some situations clearly require parental involvement and disciplining. It’s easy to become annoyed or discouraged with what feels like endless striving. It is tempting to ignore or downplay bickering, or to respond to it in a sinful manner. […]
Read More →Praising the Good
“…to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Pet. 2:14, ESV). It’s easy to become focused on what our children are doing wrong. When the toddler spews the food he doesn’t like across the room, we have to clean it up. And we have to train him to behave differently. When angry boys resort to punching each other, we have to evaluate their stories. […]
Read More →Teaching Our Children to be Thankful for Their Food
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever… Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Ps 136:1 and 25). The Israelites complained about the food God gave them. There it was, miraculously appearing on the ground every morning, “angels’ food” (Ps. 78:5), free for the gathering. It tasted good. It was good for them. Their loving Father, […]
Read More →Teaching Children to Use Computers, Internet, and TV Wisely
“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” (Proverbs 22:3) Last week I told you about the summer my parents turned off our computer. Computer time was becoming too important, but once we got off the computer for a few hours, we remembered how fun it was to be active and creative again! Don’t get me wrong; technology is not a bad […]
Read More →Choosing to Love
“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him […]
Read More →Ever Feel Like a Referee?
One day, many years ago, I woke up to the fact that I was encouraging my children to gossip. You might recognize the symptoms: “Maaah-meee! Ruthie’s not sharing!” “Maaah-mee! Benny just poked me!” “Maaah-mee! Suzy’s making faces at me!” One child would become annoyed with another child. Instead of exercising patience and overlooking small offenses or calmly talking to the person who might be seriously provoking him, he was hurrying […]
Read More →Dealing with Quarrels
“He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat” (Proverbs 28:25). Read this verse to your children and you may get some snickers! Who wants to be made fat? The answer to that question: a person who is hungry. The man who puts his confidence in God won’t be hungry anymore. He will be satisfied. Other translations of this […]
Read More →Preparing Ourselves to Train
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Do you ever feel unprepared to address the discipline issues that come up in your household? The project posted on April 12, “Arming Yourself with the Word,” was intended to be a “training exercise.” It outlined steps for studying God’s definition of love in 1 Corinthians […]
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