Making Good Choices

In my house my husband and I try to teach our boys to make their own decisions but to also make good choices. We both understand that kids will be kids and make mistakes, but we also believe that at any age a child should be held accountable for his actions. We set rules and limits in the house and we expect the children to follow these rules in and out our presence. Our two older boys are 9 and 6 years old and we try to impress on them that their behavior is their responsibility and they must take care of it. Every Saturday we do a family devotional and a few weeks ago we did a devotional about making good choices and I thought it was very impactful. Basically the story was teaching the children to conduct themselves in a way that would honor God. The story suggested that if you would be embarrassed to have Jesus next to you during your activities, then you probably should rethink what you are choosing to do. The devotional emphasized that God gives all of us free will; but it’s what we choose to do with it that is important. Most of the time I feel that I am constantly reminding my children of this, and time and time again they seem to instantly forget. This principle of making good choices carries me into my next point and that is, since our children spend so much time out of the home and at school; shouldn’t the school also reinforce these core principles? Today I toured the school associated with my Southern Baptist Church here in the Charlotte area and was pleased to know that each and every day the students are reminded of Godly principles and values. It is a requirement that each student take Bible Class in order to meet all graduation requirements. Now I don’t believe that all kids have to go to Christian Schools. I’m just making an observation on how I think it is a good idea if the place your child spends the most time at also reinforces the same basic principles as you do. Making good choices concerning your children are hard too.