Why you Should Train Your Child

As you already know, practice makes permanent, not perfect

I figured the best place to start is pretty much Proverbs 22:6.

. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

So what does it even mean to train? Let us break this portion down a little bit so we can get a better understanding.

To Train is to teach, direct, and give instruction.

So why should you as a parent train your child?

Help them discover their purpose.

As a parent, you should help your child discover purpose and path in life through their gifts and talents. Parents are in the unique role of helping children discover how God has equipped them and how they can use their gifts in a positive way as adults.

Picture yourself as a boxing or football coach for a minute and your child is the sportsman coming up under your wings. And you need them to perform at the highest level possible. They will need your best teaching and instruction off the field to perform on the field.

It is a warning.

To parents who allow their children to grow up without guidance, children left to their own way (best known in some communities as lone ranger). Such children become adults who go their own way… the wrong way, unfortunately. (David Miller)

“Training is consistently modeling behaviors that we want our children to adopt.”

You have a responsibility as a parent.

Throughout Scripture, God is pretty clear about the responsibility He places in the hands of parents.

None is clearer than Deuteronomy 6:6–7:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on 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.”

“Our children are going to learn about the world around them and their role in it. If they don’t learn from us, they will learn from someone else. It’s our responsibility to use our time with our kids wisely.”

Interestingly, Solomon wrote later in Proverbs 22:15 that

“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child.”

He obviously recognized that children don’t tend to make wise choices on their own.

One thing to remember is to build a healthy relationship with your child.

This is by far the magic wand and it always works. We are not just talking about any relationship, not even the mere fact that you are his biological father. No, what we mean here is the intentional building of a relationship based on love, trust, and respect over a period of time spent together.

Finally, a word of caution: You aren’t going to be able to teach your child overnight. No doubt there will be times when they misbehave. “They are kids, after all,” But if you continue to focus, sooner or later the lessons will sink in. As they do, your well-behaved child will need less and less intervention from you.