Horizon.org

This past weekend we hosted part one of a two part parenting conference at Horizon. It was incredible. I couldn’t be more proud of our ministry team and the way our church consistently ministers to real issues and felt needs. It was an awesome day with only one downside, not having enough time to cover everything. But take heart! This weekend we take on Part two (the teenage years) and this Wednesday at our midweek service we’ll be hosting a Godly Parenting Q&A. Don’t Miss it! For now, the Blog can help keep the conversation going:

Question: Have you fallen in the trap of over-explaining things to your kids? Are you constantly negotiating with them? If so, it’s likely that you’re feeling the weight of that. If with every stand you take your child challenges your authority, decision, or rule, and you keep talking to him in order to get him to understand why you’ve made the rule in the first place, stop with the Parley! Understand that what you’re doing is training your child not to accept your rules or your role. If you tell your child “No, you can’t do that,” and they keep pressing you so that you end up giving in and letting them do it -you’ve just trained them not to believe you.

Granted, in these progressive days many parents disagree with me and feel it’s important to explain their reasoning to their kids in an attempt to get them to understand. Please! I’m only trying to help you realize that wanting your child to understand your every move can easily shift into wanting their approval and acceptance of your reasons. That’s not always going to happen. Instead, what ends up happening is parents becoming cornered into over-explaining things as if the parent/child relationship is on an equal par. News Flash: It’s not! God has wisely weighed the scales in the parents favor, and for good reason. I personally think that once you’ve given your child a reasonable amount of input, any further explanation defeats the purpose and wears away at your God given role. The Bible says, “Let your Yes be Yes and your No be No” (Matthew 5:37). That’s a great principle to keep in mind, as you desire to Parent more effectively.