Spoil the child as the Proverb goes. being a believer I do believe in spanking. It is laid out in Scripture. However where do you draw the line. It is a thin line sometimes very gray and muddled. Unfortunately unlike some other principles and rules laid out in the Bible the idea of discipline is vague in some areas. I wish God would have laid out the things deserving of spankings and those that are just not worth the energy it takes to administer discipline. So what has prompted this post? Well it’s the culmination of many many things over the last couple of years. Probably most of all conversations with friends who also have children. Let me start off by saying that I have been blessed with two children and a third on the way. Tornado is almost two and ladybug is almost 9 months. Their names are fitting for their personalities. Tornado is a VERY strong -willed independent smart VERY active little boy. He definitely causes me to get my exercise and stay mentally sharp. Luckily I can still move a little quicker than he can though that will slowly decrease over the nest few months. He’s a great kid and very inquisitive. Lady bug is just that. She sits on the floor and plays quietly until one of three things happens, she poops, she gets tired or tornado loves her too much! Other than that you don’t even realize she is there most of the time. I have a friend who has a compliant 16 1/2 month old and has begun to alienate some friends, me included. You see she seems to think that SHE made her daughter the way she is, in which she really must realize that she had nothing to do with it and that all the constancy in the world only makes a compliant child better! However my thought go to the verse “do not provoke your children to wrath?” I have seen that in my son. And for that I am sorry! As I have discovered with a strong willed child that Eventually consistency turns into abuse, and my friend will never understand that until she has a strong -willed child of her very own. And at that point I am concerned for her child because she is not very flexible and not very understanding. I’m not perfect. And I am not so sure that “BREAKING a CHILD’S WILL” is Biblical. I don’t want to “break” my child’s determination for the main fact is that’s what will give him the drive in life to do great things. I am here to correct and guide, protect and be a good steward of the gifts God has give to Hubby and I. I am raising a child who can think for himself and not bow to every command. That is why my husband is the way he is. He had the correct balance growing up. And as a final note if you think back to the parable of the prodigal son, it is difficult for me to see who really is the prodigal son. I am willing to say that I am pretty sure that punishment was fair between the two brothers growing up. You can see that in the response to the son who complains to the dad about how he is treating the returning son, and the father said I would have done the same for you. In that case to had a compliant child and the rebellious child. But in the end of it all the rebellious child understood his wrong and repented and humbled himself to ask forgiveness but the compliant child probably lived the rest of his life in bitterness and anger. What outcome would you rather from your child? the choice is clear to me!
