GOOD OUCH FOR YOUR KIDS

Para sa buhay na hindi sabog, disiplina ang kailangan. 

Putting one's life together is no laughing matter. One may be a scatter-brain and forget what he did a while ago or where he placed something. But to be a scatter-life? That's a recipe for not merely slight bumps, but a lifetime of heartaches. 

New Life Center's Pastor Allan Critchett preached on disciplining children recently, directing his message especially to fathers, they being the head of the family. 

He quoted an end time prophecy from İsaiah 3:4&5 when "capricious children will rule... the young rising up against the old..." so he cautioned parents to "train up children in the way they should go, so that when they are old, they will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). 

Come to think of it, a baby doesn't come out of the womb with his hands on his lap or a smile on his face. He's simply a screaming, kicking and shrieking bundle! But so adorable! 

But not when he's a bit bigger, and you realize that this cute and cuddly nino-bonito, has somehow learned to wrap you around his little finger, manipulating you with even a whimper. 

Charge that to man's sinful nature. Proverbs 22:15 says that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. So if one is allowed to carry out on his own, he will inevitably crash and burn---because he has not been trained to navigate life's situations wisely. 

The bible cautions parents, especially fathers, not to provoke their children to wrath, Ephesians 6:4. Ain't it tempting to hurl venom-infused words especially when your kid intentionally rebels? 

Without a fairly good dose of self control, a parent may severely lash out either with bruising words or a paddle, so a child gets mangled both inside and out. That's child abuse. 

Bringing up children involves discipline and instruction, adds Pastor Critchett. He used to wield a spatula as his rod to discipline his daughter---not so hurting if you come to think of it. But even when he was just getting ready to use it, his daughter would already be wailing and contorting like she was already being spanked. "İ'm sorry, İ'm sorry, İ won't do it again, waaaah!" 

My daughter disciplines her son by barking, "Go to your place!" He would cry and agonize as if he'd been flogged a million times, screaming the same line, "İ'm sorry, İ'm sorry, İ won't do it again, waaaah!" 

Don't discipline your kid when your blood is still boiling. Simmer down first, cautions Pastor Critchett. And balance discipline with instruction so he understands the need for discipline. 

Discipline and instruction cushion children from the ouch of God, he says. As they grow into adulthood, they will be disciplined too inside as they commit their lives to the Lord. 

A little ouch is like band aid. Once plastered, it will give your child such relief, he wouldn't want to part with it.

(Originally published at CBNAsia.org)
Photo credits: elizabethpulie.wordpress.com