Author: Bryan Gibson

Weekly Bulletin
December 15, 2019

7 Ways To Mess Up The Discipline Of Our Children
by Bryan Gibson
Spanking and other forms of corrective discipline are an essential part of child-rearing. According to the Scriptures, when corrective discipline is administered properly, it has the following effects:
The child develops respect for the authority of his parents, or to put it another way, submits his will to another (Hebrews 12:9). And it’s important they learn that early, because we want them to ultimately submit their will to the Lord (Matthew 16:24; Galatians 2:20).
Foolishness is driven out of the child (Proverbs 22:15).
The child develops wisdom (Proverbs 29:15).
A properly disciplined child gives “rest” to his parents and delight to their souls (Proverbs 29:17).
Unfortunately, corrective discipline is not always administered properly. When that is the case, these effects can be greatly diminished or maybe even destroyed completely. Let’s look at some ways corrective discipline can lose its intended effects:
Not starting early enough
Make no mistake about it, the longer we wait the more difficult it will be to conquer their will. Start early and it will be easier on everyone involved.
Inconsistency
When the same behavior is laughed at one time and spanked another, how can a child possibly learn the lesson he’s supposed to learn? With some parents, discipline is affected by their mood. If they’re in a good mood, they may just kind of “shrug off” their child’s misbehavior. On the other hand, if they’re in a bad mood, they may get angry and spank them. Something is wrong with that picture, isn’t it?
Lack of promptness
Children can have awful short memories. If corrective discipline is not administered promptly, the child may not understand exactly why he’s being disciplined. They may also fail to see how serious their misbehavior really is, if we wait too long to punish them.
Idle words
We’re talking here especially about idle threats of punishment. If we promise punishment for a certain behavior, we need to follow through. It’s awful hard to train our children when they don’t take our words seriously.
Lack of pain
“No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful…” (Hebrews 12:11). Yes, it’s supposed to hurt, to sting, because if it doesn’t, it’s unlikely the behavior will be corrected. Children need painful reminders of past actions—they need to know how much it will hurt if they do it again.
Lack of perseverance
Perhaps we do start early, doing it consistently and promptly, and maybe even doing it firmly enough to hurt—but the results don’t come as quickly as we like. Too many parents decide it’s not working and abandon the plan. Big mistake. The stubbornness, the self will in children can often be quite strong, which means we must persevere in order to get the desired result. Give up and they feel like they’ve “won,” and that’s not a good thing.
Divided parents
Some parents don’t “back each other up” on the discipline of their children. If a child knows that after being disciplined by one parent, he can run to the other and get support, do we really think the discipline will have much effect? Parents might question each other privately about disciplinary matters, but it should never be done in front of the children.

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The Prattmont Church of Christ is just what the name suggests, a church that belongs to Christ. We are not a denomination; we are simply a group of Christians trying very hard to practice the teachings of our Head, Jesus Christ. The New Testament offers a complete pattern for what each local church should be like—its organization, its worship, its work, etc. We are committed to following that pattern. We cordially invite you to attend our services. We would also welcome any comments or questions about this bulletin.

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