Train Up a Child

The Bible says to train up a child in the right way and when he's older that's what he or she will remember and adhere to. This advice is found in Proverbs 22:6.

Partly this principle has to do with self-image. What we are trained to believe we are, we will be, more or less. My parents read to me and my brothers every night when we were very young, and from the age of 3 or 4, my dad took us to the library every 14 days to borrow more books. It's not surprising that we all love words and write coherently.

Comfort also has a lot to do with the principle expressed in Proverbs 22:6. Though people generally experiment through our teens and twenties and often longer--trying to find our own ways of working, and playing, eating and loving, to differentiate ourselves from those who raised us--eventually we are drawn back to our past--at least to the pieces from our past that made us feel good inside, safe, and loved back then.

Self-image and the kind of comfort to which we return are two things parents should keep in mind when choosing ways to train their children spiritually.

Tyndale House Publishers has made availableThe One Year book series that will help children appreciate the possibility of a personal relationship with God, and excite them about their own God-given potential to be more like Jesus.

The One-Year Devotions for Preschoolers has a brief one-page, large-lettered reading for each day of the year, featuring illustrations by Elena Kucharik, who did the Care Bears illustrations in the 1980's, and written by prolific children's book author Crystal Bowman.

Little Zoe, Jack, Kaitlin, and Parker are featured as examples of typical preschoolers who sometimes play nicely and sometimes don't, who can be silly one day and sad another day. Each example of realistic childhood activity is followed by a question. (Are you sometimes grumpy? Do you like to play dress-up?) and a reminder that God loves each of us for who we are and wants the best for all of His children. It's appropriate for ages 3 to 6.

Next, The One-Year Children's Bible is promoted as suitable for 6 to 10 year olds. It's quite a hit with my nine-year-old stepson. Nehemiah's not the most committed reader yet, but I only told him once on Christmas Day that I'd like him to read this Bible, and he's read it quite a bit since then. He keeps telling his dad and me what a "good book" this is and repeating his favorite stories, such as Samson's using "a dead donkey's jawbone" to kill 1,000 men.

For young adolescents and pre-adolescents, Tyndale has The One-Year Devos for Girls and one for boys too. The One-Year Devotions for Boys has the approval of my 14-year-old stepson who likes the way it "makes you think about yourself" by asking probing questions  related to the short but pithy stories for each day of the year. (Do you find it difficult to get up to go to church? Are you sometimes tempted to do things that seem just a little bit wrong?) The boys and girls devotions are marketed for ages 8 to 12, but I'd suggest them more for the 10 to 14 age group, who should gain insight from these devotions into the relationship between belief and behavior. I find the girls devotions enjoyable myself.

As a stepmom and former children's church minister, I know that if we want our children to take their spiritual lives seriously, they need serious training that's neither regimented nor superficial--something fun that provokes suitable soul-searching. Tyndale's The One-Year books are just right.