“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

In 4th grade, I sang “The Greatest Love of All” by the late, great Whitney Houston for a school talent show. Hopefully I didn’t butcher the song too much. One of the first lines of the song says “teach them (children) well and let them lead the way…”

Today’s Proverb took me back to that song and made me reflect on my present season as a mother to my daughter.

Some days, I teach baby girl well. I teach her love, kindness, and empathy. I teach her manners and politeness. I teach her to take care of herself and her environment.

But other days I don’t teach her so well. Especially those days when my actions undermine any words I may say to her. The old adage “do as I say, not as I do” is total BS. Children pay more attention to what you do and will mimic those actions. Case in point: when my daughter employs sarcasm. As a child, I was called a “smart mouth”, and continue to struggle with sarcasm daily. Or when I lose my temper and yell instead of taking just a few more seconds to wait before letting some damaging words erupt from my mouth.

In those moments, I immediately feel like a failure. I’m not teaching her the way she should go. The Proverbs expound upon following the path of wisdom and righteousness as opposed to foolishness and wickedness. Our children should answer Wisdom’s call (Proverbs 8). But sometimes I show her foolery.

Not always, but most of the time I will go to her and apologize. I try to do better the next time.

The second part of today’s Proverb can come across as a promise, but that isn’t the case. We can look at people around us and see that children don’t always stay on the right path, even if their parents raised them “right”.

Children are people. And people make choices. We have freewill to choose good or bad, right or wrong. Sometimes our children will make good choices and sometimes they won’t. The proverb is a general truth, not an absolute guarantee. We do the best we can as parents, and then trust our kiddos will boomerang back if they ever decide to answer Folly’s call (Proverbs 9:13-18).

I learn to give myself grace when it comes to parenting. I make mistakes and try to learn from them. Each day a new opportunity presents itself to teach her well and guide her on the way she should go.

What are some ways you hope to be a better parent?

EKG