Parenting Today

Parenting

Parenting

The world of parenting seems to be turned on it’s head these days. Parents are running around with their eyebrows furrowed, yelling, speaking down to and just over all living in a constant state of angst and finger pointing.

Everyone has the same question: Why does Johnny do what he does and how can I make him stop and behave?

Focus

Parents today have lost their focus. Because of the constant onslaught of technology and economic crisis parents are running in circles unable to focus on raising children. In truth, not only have parents lost the focus on how to raise children, but why we have children in the first place.

In many cases, parents are not really concerned about how to or why they should raise their children. Their focus is outside of the home, not in the home or on their children.

Parents have Abdicated Their Roles

Because we no longer regard children as blessings and have placed them in the care of others, parents have abdicated their roles as parents. And when Johnny comes home and shows behavior the parents don’t understand, they are left scratching their heads wondering ‘where that came from.’ Worse, yet, as parents are racing at the speed of light to take their children to/from school and activities, their own sinful nature is shown and children are becoming byproducts of a world gone mad in search of the next best thing.

Parents are completely unaware or unwilling to see that because they have abdicated their roles as parents – the answer as to why Johnny is behaving the way he is – is facing them in the mirror.

  • Children speak to their parents, the way parents speak to their children.
  • Children treat others the way their parents treat others and the way they treat their own children.
  • Children are disrespectful, because they have never learned respect.
  • Children do not have time for their parents and don’t want to be around them….because their parents do not have time for htem.

Parental Roles

Because children are created by God for God’s glory, we are to raise them for him. So many today say that we should open our children’s minds to all that is around them in the world today and let them decide what is best for them. The Bible, which is my authority on my role as a wife, mother, child, etc is very clear regarding the roles of the parent.

  • Acknowledge that all children are created by God: “and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecc 12:7)
  • Give them to God: “So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” (1 Sam 1:28)
  • Teach them about God: “He decreed statues for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children” (Psams 78:5) , “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph 6:4), and “these commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deut. 6:6-7)
  • Set an example: “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” (1 Tim 3:2-3)
  • Discipline them: “He must manage his family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.” (1 Tim 3:4)
  • Love them
  • Pray for them

Please note, many of these notes are ideas I received when reading the Bible and The Duty of Parents

The Bible

Overall, the Bible is the best place to start for anything in life. As a parent, this should be your first go-to book for your home. Read God’s word, memorize it and apply it to your life and home!

What do you think about parenting in today’s world?