Train Your Child From Infancy

FILLING YOUR CHILD'S NEEDS

Proverbs 22:6 says:  "Train up a boy according to the way for him."  Training children is another major parental duty.  When, though, should that training take start?  Very early.  The apostle Paul noted that Timothy had been trained "from infancy."  (2 Timothy 3:15)  The Greek word used here can refer to a small baby or even an unborn child.  (Luke 1:41, 44; Acts 7:18-20) Hence, Timothy received training from when he was very young-and rightly so.  Infancy is the ideal time to begin training a child.  Even a young baby has a hunger for knowledge. 

"When I first saw my baby," says one mother, "I fell in love with him."  So do most mothers. That beautiful attachment between mother and baby grows as they spend time together following the birth. Nursing adds to that intimacy.  (Compare 1 Thessalonians 2:7)  A mother's caressing her baby and talking to it are crucial to filling the baby's emotional needs.  (Compare Isaiah 66:12)  But what  about the father? He too should form a close connection with his new offspring.  Jehovah himself is an example of this. In the book of Proverbs, we learn of Jehovah's relationship with his only-begotten Son, who is represented as saying: "Jehovah himself produced me as the beginning of his  way . . . I came to be the one he was specially fond of day by day."  (Proverbs 8:22, 30; John 1:14)  Similarly, a good father cultivates  a warm, loving relationship with his child right up from the beginning of the child's life. "Show lots of affection," says one parent.  "No child ever died  from hugs and kisses. 

But babies need more. From the moment of birth, their brains are ready to receive and store information, and parents are  a primary source of this.  Take language as an example. Researchers  say that how well a child learns  to talk and read is  "thought to be closely related to the nature of the child's early interaction with his parents."  Talk and read to your child from babyhood on.   Soon he will want to copy you, and before long you will be teaching him to read. Likely, he will be able to read before entering school. That will be especially helpful if you live in a country where teachers are few and classrooms are crowded.

The foremost concern of Christian parents is filling their child's spiritual needs.  (See Deuteronomy 8:3) With what goal? To help their child develop a Christlike personality, in effect, to put on "the new personality."  (Ephesians 4:24) For this they need to consider proper building materials and proper building methods. 

Next time: Train Your Child From Infancy/INCULCATE  THE TRUTH IN YOUR CHILD

From the book: The Secret of FAMILY HAPPINESS