Parents often discipline in terms of behavior modification:
- “No backtalk.”
- “Say please and thank you.”
- “Stop picking on your brother” (with two boys, Jean and I have said that one a lot over the years).
- “Put away your backpack.”
Outward behavior is an important part of raising children of character. But it’s only one side of the coin. The other is developing their inner motivation.
The root word of discipline is “disciple.” As disciples of Christ, we follow His teachings outwardly because our hearts are being transformed from within. Likewise, we want our kids to obey us because they’re internalizing good values. We want them to want to obey.
Here’s the $100,000 question: How do you do that? How do you turn routine discipline into an opportunity to disciple your child’s heart?
We’ll answer that question on our broadcast “Disciplining Your Kids with Love and Limits,” with our guests Ellen Schuknecht and Erin MacPherson. They’re the mother and daughter coauthors of the book Put the Disciple into Discipline: Parenting with Love and Limits available through our online bookstore.
They’ll share how to put discipleship into your discipline and to develop godly qualities in your children. With their tips, even minor issues like “Put away your backpack” can become opportunities for your children to learn respect, the value of hard work, and honoring the household.
Parenting doesn’t come with a manual, but we have the help you need. Tune in on your local radio station, online, or on our free phone app.
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