What is your child’s attitude like? Is he generally a happy and joyful child? Or is he moody and unhappy? Does he honor Dad and Mom?

God is building family government through the physical family as a type of what He is ultimately building spiritually. We, as parents, have the sobering responsibility of rearing our children to love God’s way and the awesome future of being a part of God’s Family. A child is a wonderful blessing from God (Psalm 128:3). As parents, we have the responsibility of shaping the human spirit in our children so that God can work with them as adults. We certainly have our work cut out for us because of the carnal human nature which resides in man (Romans 8:7).

In this article, we will examine three basic ways to properly develop a child’s attitude.

Love

To begin with, we must love them first. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love Him, because He first loved us.” The Father loves us first. It follows that we as parents have to love our children first. You cannot force your child to love you. You do it by loving him first.

1 Peter 3 says a wife can win her unconverted husband just by her conduct. And so it is with a child. Your child’s heart can only begin to turn toward you if you love him or her first. The attitude we develop in our child, whether good or bad, will come back to us in the future.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). As fathers and mothers, do we lead the family by developing a strong bond with our children? There has to be a loving bond between the child and his parents in order to have a successful family relationship.

If all you do as a parent is discipline your child without love, then you will raise a hostile child who, when grown, will not be turned to Dad and Mom. If the dad leads the family in love, then the children are more likely to return that love.

Our children truly belong to God (Psalm 127:3). God has given us the privilege to have children. He expects us to raise them so they will turn to Him spiritually when they are grown. To do this we must make it easy for our children to love us. It all gets back to a loving family relationship—just like the love God the Father and Jesus Christ have for us. This does not mean being permissive. Real love is always based on God’s law. That means government.

In loving our children the same way we are loved, we teach them about the marvelous opportunities in store for them (Psalm 45:16). Are we teaching our children about God’s incredible plan for them?

By loving our children, we instill in them the importance of character. What about when our children are involved in games or sports activities—what is their attitude like if they lose? Character has everything to do with being a good sport. Certainly we should teach our children to strive to win, or to do the very best they can. But win or lose, they should have a good attitude about it. Then, as our children begin to succeed, they will become motivated children who want to succeed later in life.

Teach

The second way to properly develop the child’s attitude is by teaching through example and instruction. For instance, when we as adults have a problem, we should go to God and ask for help, seek the answer, and then take action, fervently putting the answer into practice.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). Your children receive an excellent example when they see you take a problem directly to God and ask for His intervention. The biggest problem is when parents won’t seek God’s guidance. How can we expect our children to do this if they don’t see us doing it? Fathers must lead the way in this area.

Do our children see us pray and study every day? Do they see the father as the head of the family with the mother fully supporting her husband? Children can immediately spot hypocrisy. If we set the proper example early, our children will, in most cases, follow in our footsteps.

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Timothy 3:14). If a problem arises in our child’s life, he should be taught first and foremost to take it to God in prayer. Soon it will become automatic. Parents who are most successful in rearing children are those who are the closest to God.

“Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:32). Do we teach our children to respect the elderly? Do the older children stand up when an elderly person walks into the room? This is even a lost art for adults today!

Our Western society has deteriorated to such a dreadful state that our elderly are pushed aside, shamefully treated and ignored by young people. This should not be so. This world idolizes youthwhen it should be greatly esteeming the elderly! If our children are taught to respect the elderly, the elderly can share much wisdom and advice with them.

What about other guests, relatives and friends with whom we come into contact? Our children should respect all adults. We need to teach our children to respect authority whether it be a teacher, a policeman or a neighbor. Obviously, if a child is being mistreated by someone in an authoritative position, that is a different situation which may require us to intervene. But more often than not, in this immoral and permissive society, parents intervene when they should not—they “stick up” for their children even when they have done something terrible. It used to be that if a child got in trouble at school, he also got in trouble when he returned home that night. But today, teachers and other public officials are afraid to properly discipline children for fear of how parents will react. Parents should stand behind and support other authority figures in our children’s lives.

Our children are bombarded with numerous negative influences from our evil society (Galatians 1:4), much worse now than when we were growing up. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). When we teach our children, we should teach the how and why of our instruction so they will thoroughly understand it. Rear your children so they will want to choose God’s way.

Placing your children in certain school activities, music or dance lessons will help in making them well-rounded. Find out what your children’s talents and abilities are and then guide them in that direction, as long as God’s laws are not violated.

Teach your children the five most important words of the Bible for them: “Honor your father and mother.” Notice Ephesians 6:1-4: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour your father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Tragically, we don’t see this in Western society today. Rather, civilization is falling apart because families are falling apart. Many children speak evil of their own parents today and think nothing of it. When they have problems, they inevitably want to blame their parents. This should not be the case. If we do our part, our children should want to please us, out of deep love and respect for us.

Discipline

The third way to develop your child’s attitude is by correcting the child. First, we should point out that correction, when done right, is love (Proverbs 13:24). So in that sense, this point overlaps with the first one. But correction deserves its own space because we need to know how to administer it to make sure that it is done in love.

When children are young, they should be taught the meaning of the word “no.” A very simple two-letter word, yet in too many cases it is not properly adhered to. You should only have to say no once; if the child doesn’t obey, then that’s the invitation you need to properly train and correct the child. If we fail to react, the child realizes that no isn’t a word to fear. This could result in much more serious consequences than if we had punished the child for disobeying. If the child knows that no means no the first time, you may even save him from a life-threatening situation. If a child wanders away and begins running toward a busy intersection, “NO!” may be the only thing that can save him. In that situation, how thankful a parent would be if the child had been reared to understand what no meant.

Consistency is the key. If you are inconsistent with following through on the no command, it only confuses the child and gives him the chance to disobey because he knows Dad or Mom probably won’t follow through. This will also develop an attitude of resentment and rebellion because the child doesn’t have definite guidelines to follow. Children, like adults, respond better to definite limits or boundaries.

Rebellion in a child requires you to bring him under the law. If you don’t, you have a child, rather than the father, ruling the household. When a child breaks a rule because he resents authority, that is a serious problem that must be dealt with. We live in an age where we see many helpless parents openly challenged by their children. Young people need parents who care enough to challenge them when their behavior might lead to tragic consequences. Parents have a God-given duty to guide their children in ways that will give them the security of clearly established limits in behavior.

Every child will challenge his parent at some point in time. And when he does, you must rise to meet the challenge. Otherwise, the child knows he has won, and then problems will be continuous and ongoing.

The thing to remember, and this is a common mistake, is not to spank for every infraction. Yes, the Bible endorses corporal punishment (Proverbs 29:15), and the main reason we spank is for rebellion—when a child deliberately disobeys the parent. The so-called experts usually only report on spanking that is not administered properly. Too many parents, with their hectic lifestyles, are unwilling to take the time to first train their children in the right behavior they desire. Then, if they do spank, it is done in frustration or anger. This kind of punishment is wrong and harmful to the child’s development. But proper spanking, when it’s combined with clear teaching and lots of love, is absolutely vital in rearing children properly.

We must always make sure the punishment fits the crime. After a child is punished for breaking a rule or disobeying a parent, he should be very repentant for what he did! If he is truly sorry, then you will soon see a happy child. If the child is not repentant after punishment occurs, we must stay with the correction until he does become repentant, no matter how long it takes. When a child’s attitude is still wrong after correction, that child’s attitude of rebellion has not been broken. There is resentment toward authority, either open or subtle, and it must be rooted out. If we can’t get our children to properly fear us quickly, we are in for a lifetime of needless pain and suffering.

Is your child under control? How does he behave at the dinner table? How does he act in other people’s homes? You won’t be invited out very often if your child is unruly. Does your child wear you out? If we have problems in these areas, the first thing we must do is take them to God.

God can provide us with all the knowledge we need to do it right. But do we diligently seek after God’s knowledge, fully intent on applying it? Or, like so many, are we experimenting with our children, hoping to find some method that will finally work?

We all have our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to child rearing. In addition, there may be other contributors to children misbehaving, like allergies or poor health. But other factors and personal weaknesses must not become excuses for our failures in properly rearing our children. As Herbert W. Armstrong said, there is cause and effect. There is a reason why children become rebellious.

What about silliness in our children? Obviously, we want our children to laugh and have a good time, but it shouldn’t get out of hand. When this begins to happen, the parent who is in tune with his child will say, “I want you to settle down.” The child should respond immediately. “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame” (Proverbs 29:15). This scripture mentions the mother, but it also brings shame on the family name, which is the father’s heritage.

Righteous character is the goal we’re shooting for. We want to rear our children so they will embrace God’s way of life when they are older. To build holy, righteous character in a child takes diligent effort on the part of both parents. It takes time. “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul” (Proverbs 29:17).

It is a difficult, lifelong process. We will make mistakes from time to time. But remember to punish for a wrong attitude—a rebellious spirit. If a child’s attitude is one of anger, pouting, moodiness, disrespect—then deal with it immediately. In 1 Samuel 15:23 we read that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Satan is the author of rebellion (John 8:44).

To have happy, well-adjusted children with a right attitude, remember to love them, teach by example, and to discipline in love. It boils down to 85 percent love, 10 percent teaching by example, and 5 percent correction in love. None of us will ever do it perfectly 100 percent of the time, but it certainly is a goal that God wants us to attain.

Let us strive to administer God’s loving family government in our homes.