Parents-Children Relationship

Train a Child in the Way He Should Go

This passage was misinterpreted by some parents in one of our work shop to mean – train your children in the way they should go –

FIRSTLY:

The emphasis is on “training a child”: in other words, each child has a peculiar way to be trained. We’ve heard parents say ‘we love them equally and treat them all the same way.’ Loving your children equally is important; equally important is the way you bring them up. For example:

Kemi and Ada are sisters. You tell kemi, “Kemi sit here till I come back” she sits still, but in order to get the same reaction from Ada you might need to add some words like “Ada if you get up from your seat before I come back, you will be punished and no games for you.” This will get Ada doing what you want. It does not mean you love one over the other, but that they need different handling to achieve the same result.

SECONDLY:

Be a parent, before being a friend. You confuse your kids when you tell them what not to do and when they do it, they are not reprimanded but in another instance they are not punished. This confuses them; they need you to be the disciplinarian before being a friend to condone their misdemeanor(s).

Be the parent and correct your kids, but do not be overly heavy handed. They need to respect you as a parent.

Try this out with your kids and share with us the outcome.