The risk in bad Parenting
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Parenting is the process of raising children and providing them with protection and care in order to ensure their healthy development into adulthood. This healthy development involves Instilling good morals, godly virtues, intellectual knowledge and building up their self esteem in other to become the best God has purposed them for in life.
Parents are to train their children in moral and godly behaviour. When the children leave the home, and subsequently by their foolishness go out into the wilderness of unrighteous living, when they are old they know the wisdom of righteous living that they learned from their parents.
There is no guarantees in training a child that he will not depart from the instruction he is given. If parents have fulfilled thier responsibility to implant a moral and godly guide by which their children can find their way back to righteousness after they leave the home, they have accomplished their duty as parents
How are you training up your child/children?
If you train up your child with good morals and godly virtue, they will not be influenced wrongly in the society even if they are exposed to it.
Bad parenting exist in the following ways.
1. Nonchalant attitude.
You have failed as parent if you are careless to know what your children are going through, what they read either in printed or digital, what they watch, the kind of friends they keep. You give no time for them, but concentrate more on your business of making money, you do not share in their burden.
Your children can not confide in you, there is no intimacy between you both, the only thing you provide is money, and provisions, but there is no good morals, where is the teaching of the word of God? Many children has been left in the hand of predators and they latter become monsters in the society.
As much as Eli was the priest of God and ministers to a whole nation, yet God expect him to give concern to his children, even with the burden of making sacrifices for the whole nation of Israel. No job, business, events or social gathering should take your time away from your children. Even your ministry as a minister of God should not take away your time from your children else they will be the ones to destroy what you have been labouring to build for years.
Eli regretted for not taking time to correct and build up his children in the way of the Lord, for they become sons of rebellion because they do not know God. Both the father and the children died the same day.
2. Being toxic of past experiences.
The fact that your parent failed you does not mean you should failed your children, thus, the chain of failure will continue. Someone has to break the yoke and make things right. Domestic violence, physical violence, sexual abuse or punishing a child excessively are obvious bad parenting traits. They were all your childhood experiences but you should get healed in other not to build up your child in the same way.
3. Failure to train a child in God's way.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psalms 127:3) children are the gift from the Lord and in same way you should bring them back to God in training them the way of the Lord, in words and in prayer.
Training up a child in the way of the lord instill in them not only godly virtues but also good morals, intellectual wisdom and good manners.
Joseph was brought up in the way of the Lord, and he never depart from it when he found himself in a strange land where there is no parent, or family to look after him. He continued in the way of the Lord and become successful.
Can you trust your child/children in what they can do when you are not around?
The risk in bad parenting.
1. They become a cancer in your heart.
No parent will be happy to see his/her child becoming wayward and vagabond, there won't be peace and rest of mind... Your child/children is the product of who you really are. Remember Eli who died same day with his children.
2. Unhealthy society.
Wrong parenting results in breading wolves into the society, children who are wrongly brought up becomes terror to the society, they become prostitute,.armed rubbers, Internet fraudsters, drug addict, and even terrorists. These are the result of bad parenting.
3. God will judge you.
Parents are guardians of children whom God gave, failure to train them up in the way they should go will bring judgment unto you.
Ask yourself today, am I a bad parent or good parent? Remember how you have been training your child?, are your children not a carbon copy of your wickedness and evil deeds?
Whatever the nation experience today is a direct result of bad/good parenting.
If you have failed as a parent, pray to God and seek His wisdom in other to make amends, if you have been good, pray to do more... You don't stop parenting until you die.
God bless you.
Prayer key:
1. Lord, than you for the blessing of today in Jesus Christ name.
2. Lord, forgive me for being a bad parent in Jesus Christ name.
3. Lord help me to be a good parent to my children in Jesus Christ name.
4. Thank you for answered prayers in Jesus Christ name. Amen.