3 Tips for raising and training Godly Kids

Study showed that religious children are meaner than their secular counterparts, because of the strict measures and training that these children have passed through, it tends to affect how they see their non religious counterparts.

Raising godly kids is not streamlined to the word "religious", it is far from it. You do not want to raise up your child to be religious yet lack godly attributes. 

In many homes, parents prefer to use the word train as it comes from the book of proverbs 22:6, which says "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Looking at this verse, it says a lot about what training is meant to do even without taking a look at the dictionary. It shows that when you train up a child, he will not easily go off that route. For example, teaching the child life principles, like how to greet, what to do when you are in danger, how to behave properly in a meeting etc.

Raising on the other hand in the dictionary means nurturing and taking care of, it means you are looking after the child. For example, providing the food, shelter, clothing etc

When you say, train and raise up a child, it includes both the rough and smooth side of parenting. It sums up what a child will be, because when you put only training and remove raising, the equation becomes incomplete and the child can develop low self esteem, hatred, find pleasure outside the home and so on and if you remove train and put just raise, then you are most likely raising a burden..

My parents those days when I was a bit younger, would beat me up and after that, sit me down to tell me reasons they had to do that, encourage me not to do it again and afterwards get me pepsi or any thing of my choice... Is that not good? So I had a knowledge of what I should not do again not because I do not want to be beaten but because I love my parents and do not want to see them hurt and for the fact that I understood my actions and what would happen if I do not obey those instructions.

Having established the meaning and correlation of raise and train, let me move further because I have prepared for you proven ways you can raise and train up your child.

1. Love your kids

Loving is not complete without you showing it. 

Let your kids be assured every time of your love for them even after scolding. Love has a way of drawing the most stubborn child closer, not that you scold and deny the child if things or begin to give attitude of disappointment. Of course, disappointment is inevitable but how you handle it matter more.

2. Do not forget to scold. Yes, I will not take this out of my points simply because it has a way of molding a child not to your taste but to make sure you play your part. I will also like to ring an alarm 🚨 here. Do not threaten your child while scolding. Saying things like, I will disown you, go and live your life the way you want, I'm out of your life etc. Scold with love!

3. Be the best example to them. Do what you want your kids to do. Stop hiding under the shadow of I teach them not to do this and that, are you not doing it as well.

This is the best way you can train them, if you want them to read the scriptures everyday, do it yourself, you are laying down examples that they will not forget for a long time.

I remember few years ago, my family was so broke and everyday, we prayed for Gods blessings. One fateful day, my mum called my attention to peep on my two youngest siblings, lo and behold, they knelt by the bed side (exactly how we pray as a family) and was asking God to bless us financially. I was moved to tears when u saw how serious they were at the age of 4 and 5. They were kids but had a knowledge of whom to go to when in need of anything, "GOD."

I will charge you with the same verse again, there is no exact way to train or raise your child but all in all, raise them to be godly and you can do this by laying examples for them.