The Scriptures advise parents to “train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Prov. 22:6). Many parents misunderstand this passage. They think “the way he should go” means “the way we, the parents think he (or she) should go.” Can you see the boundary conflicts already beginning? The verse actually means “the way God has planned for him (or her) to go.” In other words, good parenting isn’t emotionally bludgeoning the child into some clone or ideal of the perfect child. It’s being a partner in helping young ones discover what God intended for them to be
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