ParentZone January 28, 2009

We first looked at the world around us in regards to parenting. Are parents too permissive or too strict?


Then we made some observations from the Bible:


The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.

Proverbs 29:15,17 (NIV)

Then we reviewed our basic diagram based on Ephesians 6:1-2 about how to keep our children in God's safe zone before watching a child get into the danger zone in the hilarious video Baptism Cannonball.

After which we dealt with the basics of spanking as a part of the discipline of our children. We established that it is always to be in conjunction with a lifestyle of rich communication with our child as we studied last week.

What spanking is NOT...

1. An act of anger or frustration
2. Public display or spectacle
3. For childish behavior

What spanking is...

1. Act of trust in God's ways
2. Parent's responsibility
3. Sets stage for obeying God

Words to accompany it...

1. Reassure them of your love and that is not because of anger
2. Restate clearly what they did wrong and that it was against God
3. Acknowledgement and repentance from the child
4. After the spanking, reassure them of your unconditional love and hold them close

Especially effective in preschool and elementary years.

If you do not have rich communication with your child, then you have no ground for using spanking.