Five Ways to Teach Your Children

What parent doesn’t want a great education for his or her child? All fathers and mothers desire to see their sons and daughters grow in knowledge and wisdom.

Second Timothy 3:15 is a short verse of only 20 words, yet it brims with truth about teaching children. Paul writes to Timothy, his son “in the faith”, and gives five ways parents must teach their children.

And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ.

This brief verse answers five questions. When should we teach our children? What should we teach our children? How should we teach our children? Why should we teach our children? Who should teach our children?

Teach them when they are small

Children often bother adults. We murder them in the womb because they’re too expensive. The modern family is smaller than yesteryear because children apparently take too much work. Continue reading

How Do I Interact With My Absent Parent?

Dear Tabitha,

I’m happy to see you growing into a godly young lady. You’ve overcome long odds having been raised in such a troublesome home.

Most children follow in the footsteps of their parents, whether they plan to or not. The kings of Israel epitomize this. Yet, here you are, growing like a weed spiritually and drinking God’s Word from a firehose—two peas in a pod—and here I am mixing three metaphors in one sentence and confusing you altogether.

You asked me recently about how to interact with your absent mother. While you’ve never known your father, your mom has always been “there” (kind of), which makes her absence all the more painful. Apparently, she never cared much for investing in you as a girl but instead focused only on herself. Now that you’re out of the house with a university degree and marriage prospects, all of a sudden she wants back into your life. Continue reading

How Early Should Parents Start Teaching Their Children?

–– Paul Schlehlein

Listen to our discussion about training children here: YoutubeSpotifyApple Podcasts

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 

Proverbs 22:6 has two main points: a command and a consequence. The command comes first because if we obey it, we’ll reap good consequences. If we disobey, the consequences are awful. 

The Command to Train Your Child

Here is Solomon’s command: “Train up a child in the way he should go.” He’s talking to educators and teachers, mostly parents. This is somewhat unique because Proverbs is not directed to parents. Primarily, it is written to youth. Proverbs 1:4 states that the purpose of the book is “to give…knowledge and discretion to youth.” Young people naturally struggle to make wise decisions, so God gave the book of Proverbs to help them. 

Continue reading

How to Teach Your Children Hard Work

–– Paul Schlehlein

Listen to the audio version of this article here: SpotifyApple PodcastsYoutube

Child labour is bad. Hardworking children are good.

Child labour is the illegal employment of children in business in order to exploit them. Many of the countries most guilty for child labour are found in Africa. Christians should rightly reject the exploitation of children for financial gain as evil. But every parent should teach their children a Protestant work ethic in hopes of equipping them for a productive life in adulthood.

How may parents succeed in teaching their children to work hard? Here are five principles.

First, wait to have children after marriage. Many children learn hard work from their mothers but mothers cannot be everywhere at once. Single mothers that work full-time jobs lack the vigilance and time to oversee and correct the lazy trends in their children. Fatherless homes are without the male intensity necessary for a disciplined family structure.

Continue reading