parenting

one thing I got out of class today was that children need to decide for themselves what they believe in, instead of being force fed the truth at a young age.  This will help them develop their beliefs earlier, like in high school, rather than later, like sometime in college.

I feel like though some parents would allow their children to decide for themselves, the majority of parents wouldn’t take that chance.  I feel like Christian parents especially are under the pressure of raising their children up in the Christian way. This involves explaining their beliefs early on, and making sure that their children do not stray from Christianity.  And I feel like this is the way a child should be raised: under the Christian roof of the family, following the beliefs of the family.  Whether or not you let them decide for themselves, the outcome of the child will ultimately be the same; either the child will reject or accept Christianity as a teenager or as a more mature college student.  Either way of raising the child, you run the risk that he will at some point reject the Christian view.  So I feel like as long as the child is in the family’s house, parents are instructed by God to lead the children towards Christ; then, when the kid becomes of age and leaves his family, its up to him to decide the direction he wants to go with it.  I feel like personally, if I was a father, I would rather my kid fall away from faith because he couldn’t accept the belief I was giving him , than having him fall away from faith because of the lack instruction and stability that I had in his life. 

Just like parents punish their kids for doing something they think is wrong and in doing so form the child’s perception of good and bad, they should also nurture and instruct the child in their believes to make sure that what they believe is true and sound