Parents today are grossly confused by lovely-sounding misinformation about how to raise children. An example is the rose theory. It alleges that children are like rosebuds. If no one bothers or interferes with them, they will naturally unfold into gorgeous roses. Sounds lovely! Trouble is, of course, children are not born into the plant kingdom! Children need strong and loving parents.
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Following are seven functions of great parenting.
Nurturing
Beyond the obvious nurturing found in healthy food, parents must feed children spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and socially. They are to teach them to play and to pray, to laugh and to cry, to handle anger correctly, to express sadness, and to recover from loss and grief. They can teach them to think, to listen, to learn, and to communicate. Above all, they must teach them about God.
Protection
No infant could survive long without the protection of a loving parent. Good parents must find the proper balance of protection without overprotection. In an increasingly violent world, physical protection demands constant vigilance.
But in the eternal sense, parents must protect their children's minds. By example and teaching, parents can and must protect children from agnosticism, prejudice, and hatred. They must counter cultural trends toward superficiality and materialism, and children must be trained in the way to live so as to guard against these things. Even though they may temporarily rebel, they are likely to return to those good early teachings (Prov. 22:6).
Creativity
God has given scientists knowledge that can enable most couples who have difficulty conceiving and bearing children to do so. But those who cannot conceive and carry to term might yet become parents by adoption. A friend adopted a year-old foster child. While waiting to receive the child, she learned about the foster mom--what perfume she wore, how she held, fed and changed the baby. This wise adoptive mother made the baby's transition to a new home easier.
Good parents are creative in the ways they live--how they correct their children, spend their money, plan for the future, and teach the truth of God to their families (Deut. 6:4-9).
Source: TimClinton.com
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