Train Children

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death. Proverbs 23:12-14

We believed in disciplining our children. I can remember one time when our son thought he could get away with something because his father was out of town on business. I took him down the stairs shaking him with my hand on his shoulder and said, “It doesn’t matter that your father is gone, you will still have to behave.” His behavior changed, like he just needed to be told that.

When they were toddlers and refused to listen, we didn’t hesitate to paddle our children with our hands without hurting them and take them to their room telling them they couldn’t come out until they behaved. As they got older, we just had to remind them of certain consequences.

I can remember my mother sometimes had to use my toy broom when I refused to listen. One day my brother and I must have been very obnoxious while she was doing laundry on the cold porch; and she used it on both of us. Never did my parents beat me, they just let me know they wouldn’t put up with disruptive behavior. When we were out in public, we looked at our parents and knew how we should behave.

I read these verses this morning and thought about what my son and grandson did last night at our Christmas in our home. We all got up from the table and they started to help clean up. I had to tell them, “The dishwasher motor was broken and the repairman had gotten a broken motor so don’t put anything in there.” My son immediately started running soapy water in the big sink and the grandson placed himself beside him and they washed all the messy dishes. My heart was warmed at their behavior. I knew my son, who is a contractor, had to come down off a roof where he had been working all day. The grandson had been working for his employer on-line all day. They had to be tired but jumped right in to help us. Because of that, our kitchen was put back into normal shape by 9:00 am today.

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for giving us good instruction in your Bible about disciplining our children. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck