Raising Responsible Children

George:  "Every evening followed the same routine.  Michael, my four-year-old son, left his toys scattered all around the house.  I tried to  make him clean up before putting him to bed.  But Michael would become hysterical, screaming and carrying on.  Sometimes I get so frustrated that I yelled at him, but that only made us both feel terrible. I wanted bedtime  to be a happy time.  So I gave up trying and just cleaned up the mess myself." 

Emily:  "The trouble began when my 13-year-old daughter, Jenny, had difficulty understanding the teacher's requirements for a school assignment.  Jenny cried for an hour when she came home from school. I encouraged her to ask for help at school, but Jenny insisted that her teacher was mean, so she didn't dare speak to her. I was tempted to march right down to the school and tell the teacher exactly what I thought of her. I felt that no one had the right to make my baby so unhappy. 

CAN you relate to George and Emily?  Like those parents, many find it difficult to protect their children. However, the situations described above actually presented an opportunity for those parents to teach their child   a valuable lesson in responsibility.  Of course, the lesson a 4-year-old and a 13-year old can learn  will be different.

The truth is, though. you will not always be there to shield your child from life's challenges.  Eventually,  a child will leave his father and mother and "carry his own load" of responsibility.  (Galatians 6:5; Genesis 2:24)   To enable childr3n  to fend for themselves, parents must stay focused on the goal of teaching them  to become unselfish, caring, responsible adults. That is no easy task! 

Fortunately, parents have a wonderful role in Jesus and the way he dealt with  his disciples.  Jesus was not a literal parent.  But his goal in choosing and training his disciples was to empower them to carry on the work, eve after he was gone.  (Matthew 28:19, 20)  What Jesus accomplished is similar to the goal each parent hopes to reach in raising responsible  children. Consider just three aspects of the example Jesus set for parents.

Next time: Raising Responsible Children- "Set the Pattern" for Your Child

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