“What Are You Teaching Your Children ?”

The wise King Solomon once said “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6.

What a challenge it is to be a parent today and more so when one has to train a child in a foreign land. Without God’s help, the task can be overwhelming. Parents must be partners with God in making disciples of our children.

On their way to the promised land, God through Moses had these to tell the Israelites “Hear O Israel, The Lord your God is one. And you shall love him with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead (Deut.6:4-9).

This statement emphasize the need for parents to play meaningful role in the training of their children- to inculcate in them the love of God and sound moral values. The world is aggressively committed to capturing our children’s mind and we as parents must even be more aggressive in our own teaching. As Christian parents, we should take advantage of every resource for increasing our children’s Bible knowledge. While we’re with the children, we ought to look for “teachable moments”-- moments when the child is ready to learn than when we are merely ready to teach—moments when the child ask questions. God is asking us to be always available for our children, that’s why HE says “ Teach them diligently to your sons, when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. No halfhearted effort will accomplish this. Parenting is not a part time job, neither is it a job for the babysitter or the maidservant.

Also important is to start teaching our children early in their lives. Scientists speak of a natural phenomenon called “imprinting” which occurs in animals and birds. Shortly after birth , most baby animals or birds become attached (or imprinted) to the first creature they see moving near them. Usually, that is the mother, but it can be something else, a human being or even something pulled on a string. This “imprinting” takes place in the first few moments after birth, after that the opportunity is gone forever. In a similar way, if we do not start teaching our children as soon as possible in the formative years, that opportunity can be lost forever. Our children will remember some of the facts we teach them, but what they will remember most is our attitude. As parents, we’re teaching all the time whether or not we realize it: by what we do, by what we say, and by what we are.

We may be familiar with :“Children Learn What They Live” but it is worth repeating :

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive

If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself.

If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative.

If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love.

If a child lives with approval he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with recognition, he learns it’s good to have a goal.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns what justice is.

If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him.

If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live.

A parent’s influence on his child can last on his third and fourth generations. A typical example in the Bible is Abraham. Father Abraham lied to save his life. Later his son Isaac told almost the same lie. Among Abraham’s grandchildren (3rd generation), we have Jacob, known as “the deceiver or tricky one”. When Jacob was old, his sons (4th generation of Abraham) lied to their father and deceived him.

What are you teaching your children?

By :

Obourba Asante Taado.