rebellion. We have known of par ents who have beaten their chil dren because they ran away from a fight with a larger child. This will build hostilities to be sure. Similarly, to avoid any discipline at all can create aggression and even more problems. There are many hostile, anti-social adoles cents who say they have a deep hatred for their parents because they were not disciplined at all. A totally permissive parent is com municating to his or her child that they do not really care what hap pens. This can cause severe diffi culties in many areas. Discipline should be a means of teaching a child to respect authority. This is not only the parent's authority and that of society, but also the author ity of the Lord. This builds values and moral behaviour even when the adult is not around. What bet ter thing for us to do than to estab lish goals and help the child to move toward those goals. While the rod is necessary at times, it should never be used to vent the parent's frustration, nor is it neces sarily the only method to discipline a child. Q. Kansas City, Mo. "How can we make our family devotions more meaningful?" A. This is certainly an excellent de sire. Too many homes have no regular, systematic, consistent fel lowship with one another and with the Lord. First of all, we should take into consideration the ages of the children involved. Our practice and material will vary greatly in this manner. Shorter periods must be necessary when attention span is limited. As parents, we do not Page 17
to the Lord. While Scripture tells us that spanking is one method of disci pline, it is not the only one. We should ask ourselves, “ Is the meth od of discipline accomplishing what we desire and that which would be honoring to the Lord?" When discipline is rendered by spanking for misbehaviour it is im portant that the parent be in con trol of his emotions. It is too easy to take out one's frustrations in such times of stress. In Colossians we are urged, "Fathers, provoke not your chil dren to wrath." As the child gets older the more easily we can rea son with him or her. There are other methods of discipline to which they will respond. Do you realize that the word "discipline" comes from the same word as "disciple"? The disciples were those who were really stu dents determined to learn. Even so, discipline should be a learning experience for the child. All chil dren are different. One may re spond adequately to a spanking while the other wilts simply with a very stern manner of disapproval. As a suggestion, you might enjoy reading the publication by Bruce Narramore, HELP, I'M A PARENT! Unfortunately, one other point is that some mothers and fathers try to discipline their children, forc ing them to operate in certain ways so that the parents may look good without any consideration for the child. There are weaknesses in the older as well as in the younger generations. When we try to force a child into a mold alien or even abnormal to him, endeavoring to live our lives over through the child, we are sowing certain seeds for
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