4 Biblical Parenting Tips: To Help Protect Your Children from the World’s Influence
When I was younger I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. I went to church at times but my parents were not living out their faith. They were Sunday morning Christians.
Eventually they found a church they really liked and decided that they were going to live out that faith. For me that meant I could no longer have fun with my friends because now they had so many more rules.
We got pulled from public school and we now not only attended church on Sunday but we were there seven days a week between school, church and sports.
Through that church, I gave my life to Christ as a teenager. I thought that being a Christian meant following all the rules of the Bible and being the best person I could be. I totally missed the part where I needed a relationship with God.
I don’t want my kids to believe those same things and I don’t want that for your kids either! I have two kids that just graduated high school last year and one that is younger still.
I have found that there are four big tips that have helped me to show them the relationship with God instead of just the rules. If you’d like to know more keep reading below.
1. Ground Them in God’s Word
This first tip seems like a no-brainer but a lot of times we take our kids to church, Sunday school and youth group and check this one off the list. Four to twelve hours a month isn’t going to be enough time to teach them all they need to know in the Bible.
Also God gave us the command in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 which says: “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”
Some people choose to use a devotional or a Bible curriculum, which is great! Our family has used some over the years as well.
However I have found that just reading through the Bible one chapter a day, discussing the commentary and answering my children’s questions works better for us.
Create The Vibe:
Here you will find the exact Children’s bible that we use in our home. This Bible is great for kids ages 3+ as it has colorful pictures but stays close to what the actual bible says just in easier language. Check it out here: https://amzn.to/48Xh7Lo
This NLT Study bible is absolutely wonderful to use for family devotions. I’ve been reading the Bible to my kids since they were little and then will read the animated story Bible to make sure they understood what we just read. Kids are so smart and pick up on more than you would think. Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3MG0yfz
The Bible Made Easy is a wonderful resource that I have for my kids and we absolutely love it! It has all sorts of charts and ways to make the Bible come alive for your child! You can find it here: https://amzn.to/490JqZp
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2. Model Christ-like Living at Home
For many years my husband and I had the title of “Christian” but we lived a Sunday morning Christian life. We knew how to act in church and as soon as were out of the building all bets were off. We were cursing, drinking, yelling, and acting like we had no sense.
In the last few years however we have been working hard to walk out our faith in our own lives, and teaching our children along the way. It is not always easy, and there are many times that you won’t get it right.
Those are the perfect times to have a conversation with your children about your behavior and teach them about repenting, asking the person for forgiveness and changing your behavior. This is a very humbling experience.
Through this step alone we have learned patience with each other, how to ask for forgiveness and offer forgiveness to others, how to trust God in our own walk as well as trusting him to help us parent our children.
Create The Vibe:
A great thing to do to teach your children about forgiveness is to read books a bout it. This book is a great option and will help them understand what forgiveness is. Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3XXgJHP
Teaching your children about God’s grace is another great way to walk out your faith in your home. Check out this book: https://amzn.to/4aWjlx7
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3. Guard Their Hearts and Minds
God gave us children to protect. He gave us the job of raising them in his word. This will look different for all of us. Some families will have different rules than others and that’s okay.
When you don’t know the best way to guard your children’s hearts and minds go to the Lord. Pray about it. Search the Bible.
How did Jesus teach and protect his disciples? That’s how we should teach and protect our children.
So many people will offer their advice and many times it will be unsolicited. Remember to use discernment. Don’t follow the advice of others who aren’t walking with the Lord.
God called us to be set apart from the world. If we are taking advice from the world we will begin to look just like those who are of the world.
Some rules for our home:
- Respect your elders
- Treat each other with respect
- Ask for forgiveness
- Offer forgiveness
- Phones come when maturity shows you can handle it
- No snap chat
- Social media is a privilege to be earned, not a right
- Chores are to be done daily
4. Pray Over and With Them Daily
During my quiet time in the morning I pray for my kids. I pray that they grow in their relationship with the Lord. I pray for their future spouse and children. I pray that the Lord will bring them a Godly spouse so they can raise their children in his word.
Through the day I pray for my older kids to get to work safely. I pray that they will be Christ like examples at their job. I pray for my youngest to find Christian friends when we move so she doesn’t have to deal with the never ending drama that she deals with from the kids we live near right now.
We pray before our meals. We have a specific prayer that goes like this “God is great God is good and we thank him for our food. By his hands we are fed. Thank you Lord for our daily bread, Amen”
Create the Vibe:
One of the great things you can do is to put some art work in your home that showcases your families values. Here’s a gorgeous piece of artwork: https://amzn.to/4j3j8dD
This is a great book to remind your children to treat others how they want to be treated instead of how the world teaches them to treat others. Check it out: https://amzn.to/4oWA32L
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If my children are having a tough time, we will pray together. If they have a bad dream at night, we talk to God about their fears. If they go through a break up, we pray for God to mend their broken heart.
I hope that these four tips help you to grow not only in your own walk with the Lord but as a parent too! So many times we can look past how to fix our own behavior and just want to fix our children’s.
One thing that I’ve learned through seventeen years of being a mom is that many times the behavior I don’t like in my child, is a behavior they have learned from me.
As we wrap up, remember to fix your own behavior before trying to fix your child’s. Rely on the Lord and his strength to get through each day and know that I am praying for you!
❤️ Share the Love Paragraph:
If this post encouraged you, I’d love for you to share it with another parent who could use the reminder that we don’t walk this journey alone. Christian parenting is challenging, but together we can encourage one another to keep pointing our children to Christ. Let’s spread the hope and wisdom of God’s Word so more families can be strengthened in faith and love.
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