“You’ll understand when you have children of your own.”
This statement has been repeated by many parents throughout the years. As fathers and mothers provide rules and regulations, children of all ages accuse their parents of being unfair and out of touch with trends in current culture.
Instead of debating, many parents opt out of an argument by explaining to their children that they will understand better when they have children of their own one day.
We hope.
What rules did your parents have that you couldn’t stand when you were a child?
For many people, they feel differently about those rules when they become parents themselves.
Overtime, our perspective changes as we become parents. We even begin to say things that sound just like our mothers or do things just the way our fathers would have done it. As our children grow, we might even be found using some of the same parental precautions that they did when we were young.
Each stage of parenting is unique. You will use different sets of parental precautions for the unique phases of your child’s life.
In addition, each stage of parenthood causes for different sets of precautions.
- Newborn
- Toddler
- Elementary
- Teenage
The precautions are different as your child grows, but they all require your initiation as you pay close attention to the needs of your children. In the Bible, each person is seen as having three distinct parts to his or her personhood. It’s called the trichotomy of Man. We each have a spiritual side, emotional side, and physical side. Look for the three divisions in the following verse:
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -1 Thess. 5:23
Think through the parental precautions you have. How many of them were spiritual? Emotional? Physical?
What did you notice about how your list divides? You might be heavy on one of the elements and neglecting the others.
Our job is to protect our children until they are able to protect themselves. To do that, we must establish secure boundaries for them. It is easier to step out of bounds if the lines were never clearly drawn. It’s time to leave no room for questions – let’s make the lines clear.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
You must be logged in to post a comment.