We ended Part 1 of this series on a high note with Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
The Bible says we need to honour our parents in Ex 20:12.
Note there are no age limits to either of these scriptures!
So, what is the 1st thing we need to train our child? I think it should be that Jesus gave you a Daddy and Mommy to train and guide you through life and you should learn to trust their guidance.
Somewhere in this guideline is the word NO!
This can actually save his life if he is approaching a road and listens and stops the 1st time you call his name. On the other hand, if he only listens on the 3rd call of his name, he will always wait for the 3rd time before he listens.
I often see a little one arguing with his dad because he wants to do something different from what his dad wants him to do. If you can get him to listen when you say No, you will save yourself a lot of heartache. When are you going to teach him that he cannot always do his own thing? It will definitely not work if he argues with his boss one day; so when is he going to get the message if you allow him to tell you what he wants at the age of 2? Does ‘backchatting’ you fall under dishonouring your parents? Would that be classified as sin?
Just to argue this point a little more. The Bible teaches us that Jesus was a human in all aspects except that He was without sin. Heb 4:15. Do you think Jesus argued with his parents when he was 2? Do you think Jesus went through the Terrible Two’s with tantrums and all? If Jesus had no sin, he must have been a ‘Model’ Toddler too.
Let’s take another angle on this subject, as many ‘Educated People’ say you must be careful not to break your child’s spirit; rather take a child’s attention off something by pointing him to something else. The problem is that he still did not learn the meaning of the word NO! Another belief is that they are too small to understand. I believe, if they understand enough to throw a tantrum, they understand that, by throwing a tantrum, they put you under pressure to give them what they want! Look how serious the ‘root’ of this behaviour (of rebellion) is: 1Sam 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. This is exactly what Satan did when he rebelled against God. The root was pride! So, now that we named it from all different angles, do you want to allow that in your house?
If you are interested, please read my next Post to find out how to deal with this. Preparing your Toddler for his/her career – Part 3.