Raising children

"Do not exasperate your children so they do not become discouraged." 1

Exasperation means: irritating, angering someone. The Bible says that children

should not be exasperated, that is, parents should not be strict and severe with their

children.

First, disciplining a child does not mean always being strict and severe with them.

Although it is true that discipline is not cause for joy for children, but sadness in

the beginning, but discipline after give good results. Discipline should be

understood as inculcating children that there are rules of coexistence, and that

these should be respected and practiced at all time, moment and place, disciplining

a child is like trying to introduce them in order, in their world of mischief and

plays, is such as putting limits to their imprudence or upheaval. It is necessary for

children to understand while they are young that discipline is the mold that their

parents have designed to guide them in life. Perhaps at some point they gave him a

spanking but never seeking to frighten, irritate or anger them, but to give him to

understand that: everything may be allowed but not everything is convenient2.

In Second place, children do not know their action’s consequences, being strict is

to assume that they should know them3. Children should be constantly warned

whenever they are wrong. Undoubtedly we are all make mistakes and children

make them even more, they do not seek to make mistakes, they seek to learn, they

do things that they should not "to see what happens", for example, a child who

burns their sister´s hair never thought about hurt her, his curiosity led him to do

that without measuring consequences or when a child launches the chicks looking
they take off like an airplane yet ends hurt them or when a child launches his toy

helicopter from the roof convinced that it will stay in the air . Children need to be

warned, advised, instructed, constantly, and all this will only reduce a mischief,

but mischief will always be.

Finally, not being strict and rigorous does not mean that children will never know

about punishment. “He whose retains punishment despises his son; The one who

loves him, in time corrects him”. Catching a child in his moment is a sign that they

are watching out him, but this does not mean constantly reproach them. A child

who is constantly criticized is not being disciplined is being mistreated. A child

who has never been disciplined, that is, they had not been corrected, it is like

letting him grow in his own way, like spoiling him. To leave uncorrected a child is

to ensnare it, to conceal means to grow up, to infuse pride or vainglory. A spoiled

child grows up thinking that everything is allowed for him. It is important for

children to know that their behavior can be punished.

To summarize, children are learning to living, so it is fundamental to discipline

them without getting to abuse or mistreatment and instill that not everything that is

allowed is convenient and based on this to constantly warn them that there are

consequences instead of reproach or recrimination, A child who is aware that he

will be corrected at the time also will know that their parents are watching for him

and also he will know his behavior can be punished.

1
Hebrews: chapter 12, verse 11.
2
Corinthians: First Epistle: Chapter 10, Verses 23-24.

3
Proverbs: chapter 22, verse 6.

4
Proverbs: chapter 13, verse 24.