Boundaries for Your Children

Boundaries for your Children

The Book of Proverbs is full of great counsel.  It is primarily a collection of sayings from Solomon offering his son wise advice for living.  In fact, many of the sections begin with words like, “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching” (Prov. 1:8).

Look in the verses below and see what type of boundaries Solomon is trying to setup for his son:

  • The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.  -Prov. 13:20
  • Why, my son, would you be infatuated with a forbidden woman or embrace the breast of a stranger?  -Prov. 5:20
  • Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.  -Prov. 10:4

Concerning your home, what type of boundaries have you setup or do you need to setup for your children? 

“Instead of exposing them to situations way over their heads, love wisely keeps moral confusion and shock values to a minimum.  Instead of leaving them to their own immaturity and peer persuasion, love trains them to put on their seatbelts early, and it establishes moral guardrails to handle life’s unexpected turns.  It also keeps those boundaries in place until our kids are ready to handle greater liberties and responsibilities.”  –The Love Dare for Parents, Day 19

Have you ever thought about what boundaries need to be setup in your home?  Baby gates and cabinet locks are great, but what about as they get older?  What are you doing to ensure them the best success in life?  Are you helping them form boundaries in their lives?  Even more importantly, are you teaching them why they are important?

You don’t want to give boundaries without reasoning, but as your children grow, they need different boundaries, lessons, and instructions from their parents.  And different children may need different focuses from time to time – no cookie-cutter parenting.

If your children were polled, what would they say you are trying to steer them towards or from what are you steering them away?