On being a parent - Part 2

Parents wish for a lot of good things for their children. Some of the things parents often inquire was how to have a creative child, how to develop child with a super brain, how to increase IQ. I am often asked of what I think of the Sichida method, the whole brain activation method, the middle brain development method, the MindChamp program, the Tony Buzan mind mapping program and many more. Questions like these came from Christians and non-Christians alike. While there is nothing wrong in wanting to develop one's child cognitive functioning, it is sad that it prevails over the need to inculcate important values. The sad truth is no one has ever asked me about how to have a child of strong faith, a child who has fear of the Lord in his/her heart, or what program are there to develop a child with characters such as integrity, honesty, compassion, generosity, and perseverance.

Well, nobody is asking, but this opinionated aunty will say something about it anyway.

The first and most important step is to have Jesus firmly enthroned in the child's heart. It is the one thing that has eternal values. What can one do as parents to ensure that one's children will come to accept Jesus as their savior and give his/her life to the Lord? Get on your knees and pray incessantly. When, where and how one become a Christian is not within any human's control. The timing is in God's hand. But praying for one's own child's salvation is one prayer that a Christian is justified to pray over and over again. After we pray, does that mean that we should just sit back relax and wait for God to take action? Absolutely not.

At the very least, children need to receive some form of Christian teachings. Making sure they attend Sunday school and other children program like AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Afraid) is good. However, our duty as parents does not rest there. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says:

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Essentially according to the verses above, we are first to have the word of God in our hearts. Then we are told to talk about the word of God with our children. Finally, and this is the most important, we are to 'wear' our belief in God (tie them up as symbols on your hands and ... foreheads), which I interpret as to model the behavior of a believer, so clearly that no one in our community (neighborhood and work place especially) will mistook us as unbelievers. Talk alone is nagging. Talking about the principles and modeling the behavior, together they are powerful parenting tools.