TRAIN A CHILD IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO: PART II
Dear Parents……when good people go silent, bad people are louder.
Dear Parents,
You are the molders of the upcoming generation, the main character in the upbringing of a child. The role models, mentors, leaders, and trainers of your young ones.
And before we blame anyone for a child’s mistake we start with the parent. The question is “Was the child not taught by their parents?”
As I said in the first article “parents have to talk to their children about controversial topics especially abortion and sexual responsibility.” Because you are the first in the chain of command and to crown it they trust you. So the responsibility lies heavily on you.
Before I turned 13, I had “the talk” with my mother and it was very intense. I am so glad I had it with her first before anyone else because I knew it came from love and her authority in my life.
Some parents have not yet had the talk with their kids because it’s weird, or believe they will use common sense or whatever other excuse. That should not be the case. Educating your child about their well-being and how to make choices in life outweighs everything else
The shows and films of today depict much sexual immorality including drugs and alcohol. These shows normalize sex, are you limiting what your kids are seeing? And if you are, are you explaining why? Because it’s not just about stopping or restricting, you have to give the reason why, so that on their own they will reason out based on what you taught them.
A swahili proverb says “kijani kikunje kigali kibichi ”. It simply means molding a child how you want them to be when they are young. Chances are when you try when they are older and more mature they won’t curve and adapt to the teaching as easily.
To The Churches
We have lost touch with the youth. The youth need mentoring from the church, yet all they get now is a sermon and that’s it.
Yes, sermons are important but if we don’t talk to the teens about the wild world issues such as sexual immorality and the dangers of such vices, they’ll be swayed. The future of the church is equally jeopardized. They need the support of the church, we can’t blame this only on the parents.
What happened to Proverbs 22:6? “Teach your children right from wrong, and when they grow old they will still do right”.(contemporary english version)
Is that not direct instruction and a piece of advice too.?
The church is a safe place for a lot of children; orphans, the vulnerable, and the destitute. The church, ideally, provides a citadel. It’s unfair for the church to be silent on such matters with children looking for guidance.
Having laid a foundation by talking of the rampant misinformation and misleading and the urgent need to correct it, the church should set an example.
Some churches are doing amazing well by undertaking activities such as spending time with the kids, availing someone who and to them, quiz them, etc. They make it not seem like a taboo to talk about some of the world’s most controversial topics and kids understand and set values based on what they have learned.
Some parents and churches have already done this and kudos to them because they have played their part. Now it’s the teens and youth left to play their role by listening to and following instructions.
Useful materials:
How to talk to the youth about sex
Complications of teen sexuality
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