"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not
depart from it." Prov. 22:6. "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to
wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Eph. 6:4.
2. How diligently should parents teach children God's Word?
"These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou
shalt teach them diligently unto thy children." "Ye shall teach them your
children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by
the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deut. 6:6,7; 11:19.
3. What high ideal should be placed before the young?
"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in
word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 Tim. 4:12.
4. What duty does God require of children?
"Honor thy father and thy mother." Ex. 20:12.
5. What is to be one of the prominent sins of the last days?
"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy." 2 Tim. 3:2.
6. Why did God reprove Eli?
"In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning
his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge
his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves
vile, and he restrained them not." 1 Sam. 3:12,13.
7. How should the youth be taught to regard the aged?
"Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old
man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord." Lev. 19:32.
8. What are some good fruits of proper child training?
"Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto
thy soul." Prov. 29:17.
9. What will result if correction is withheld?
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his
mother to shame." Verse 15. See Prov. 22:15.
10. Is there danger of delaying correction too long?
and let not thy soul spare for his
crying." Prov. 19:18. See Prov. 23:13,14.
11. Does proper correction evidence a want of parental love?
"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him
betimes." Prov. 13:24.
NOTE.-One Christian mother writes thus concerning the importance of child training:
"Children who are allowed to come up to manhood or womanhood with the will
undisciplined and the passions uncontrolled, will generally in after-life pursue a course
which God condemns. The neglect of parents to properly discipline their children has been
a fruitful source of evil in many families. The youth have not been restrained as they
should have been. Parents have neglected to follow the directions of the Word of God in
this matter, and the children have taken the reins of government into their own hands. The
consequence has been that they have generally succeeded in ruling their parents, instead
of being under their authority. False ideas and a foolish, misdirected affection have
nurtured traits which have made the children unlovely and unhappy, have embittered the
lives of the parents, and have extended their baleful influence from generation to
generation. Any child that is permitted to have his own way will dishonor God and bring
his father and mother to shame."
12. Whom does the Lord chasten?
"For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He
receiveth." Heb. 12:6.
NOTE.-From this we may learn that all child training should be done in love, and that
proper child training is an evidence of true love.
13. Against what evil should fathers guard?
"Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be
discouraged." Col. 3:21.
NOTE.-Correction should never be given in anger, for anger in the parent stirs up anger
in the child. It is well to pray with a child before correcting him, and frequently mild
but faithful instruction, admonition and prayer are all the training necessary,- are, in
fact, the best training that can be given. But in any case of perverseness, stubbornness,
or willful disobedience, the correction, whatever it may be, should be persisted in until
the child yields submissively to the will and wishes of the parent. It is best, generally,
that correction should be done in private, as this tends to preserve the self-respect of
the child, a very important element in character building. No correction nor training
should be violent or abusive, or given for the purpose of breaking the will of the child,
but rather to direct the will, bring it into proper subjection, and the child to a
realizing sense of what is right and duty.
14. How are the present effects and future results of chastisement contrasted?
"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them
which are exercised thereby." Heb. 12:11.