DISCIPLINE AND RESPECT

Discipline is training that corrects, and it includes communication.  Discipline carries the thought of correction more than of punishment-although punishment may come into the picture. Your children needed discipline when they were younger, and now that they are teenagers, they still need some form of it. Perhaps even more so. Wise teenagers know that this is true.

The Bible says "Anyone foolish disrespects the discipline of his father, but anyone regarding reproof is  shrewd."  (Proverbs 15:5) We learn much from this scripture. It implies that discipline will be given.  A teenager cannot 'regard reproof' if it is not given.  Jehovah gives the responsibility for administering discipline to the parents particularly the father.  However, the responsibility for listening to that discipline belongs to the teenager.  He will learn more and make fewer mistakes if he heeds the wise discipline of his father and mother.  (Proverbs 1:8) The Bible says:  "The one neglecting discipline comes to poverty and dishonor.  But the one keeping a reproof is the one that is glorified." -Proverbs 13:18.

When disciplining teenagers, parents need to be balanced.  They should avoid being so strict that they irritate their offspring, (You don't have to be strict to irritate you offspring, they basically stay that way, from what I've seen) -perhaps even damaging their children's self-confidence.  (Colossians 3:21) And yet parents do not want to be so [permissive that their youngsters miss out on vital training.  Such permissiveness can be disastrous.  Proverbs 29:17 says: "Chastise your son and he will bring you rest and give much pleasure to your soul."  However, verse 21 says: "If one  is pampering one's servant from youth on, in his later life he will become a thankless one." Although this verse is talking about a servant, it applies with equal measure to any youngster in the household.

In truth, proper discipline is a proof of the parent's love for his child.  (Hebrews 12:6, 11) If you are a parent, you know that it is difficult to maintain consistent,  reasonable discipline. For the sake of peace, it may seem easier to allow an obstinate teenager to do what he wants. In the long run, however, a parent who follows this later course will pay for it with a household that is out of control. -Proverbs 29:15; Galatians 6:9. 

Next time: WORK AND PLAY

From the book: THE SECRET OF FAMILY HAPPINESS, 1996