Stop Treating Your Children Like Friends

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” —Ephesians 6:1

There’s been a serious lack of parenting going on in this nation for quite sometime.

If you simply look around you’ll see evidence of this everywhere you turn.

Parents today are bending over backwards to avoid saying one word that every child needs to hear often, early, and without apology:

No.

Instead, they ask.

They negotiate.

They bribe.

They beg.

They act like their six-year-old is a roommate.

Like their teenager is a trusted consultant.

Like their toddler should get a vote in where or what to eat, what to wear, and what the family rules are.

We are living in the fallout of generations who wanted to be liked more than they wanted to be respected.

And it shows.

Look around.

We’ve got classrooms full of kids who’ve never been corrected, workplaces overrun with young adults who can’t take instruction, and homes where children run the show while parents cower in the corner scrolling their phones.

Why?

Because somewhere along the way, parents stopped parenting.

They stopped telling their children what to do.

What to wear.

What to eat.

How to sit at the table.

How to speak respectfully.

How to walk in a store without touching everything in sight.

How to say yes sir and no ma’am.

How to obey.

Because obedience isn’t fashionable anymore.

Authority is frowned upon.

Structure is oppressive.

Discipline is “mean.”

But the Bible says otherwise:

“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” —Proverbs 22:15

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” —Proverbs 13:24

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” —Ephesians 6:1

Children need to be told.

They don’t need another buddy.

They need a boundaries, structure, and rules with consequences when disobeyed.

(And no, I’m not promoting child abuse in any form. Proper discipline is never abusive. Period.)

• Quit asking them what they want to eat every night like you’re their waiter.

• Quit asking their opinion about what time they want to go to bed.

• Quit dressing them like miniature pop stars because you’re too afraid to say,

  “No, that’s not appropriate.”

• 
  

They are not your equals.

They are not your peers.

They are not your spiritual advisors.

They are souls entrusted to your leadership—and if you won’t lead them, the world will.

And the world will not love them.

It will devour them.

This trend of lazy, passive parenting is raising a generation of children who believe they are the center of the universe.

Children who believe they always deserve a choice, and if they don’t get it, someone is oppressing them.

These kids grow up to become adults who cannot take correction, cannot delay gratification, cannot sit still in a church pew, and cannot hold down a job unless everything revolves around their comfort and preference.

And yet it could all be different if someone just taught them early:

You are not in charge.

Regardless of where you are in life you have an authority you must abide.

This is real life.

And ultimately we ALL are in subjection to the authority of the Lord, and there are consequences for our actions also.

You are not doing your child any favors by giving them everything they want.

You are not empowering them by letting them call the shots.

You are crippling them.

It’s not harsh to say no.

It’s not cruel to set rules.

It’s not unkind to parent with clarity and conviction.

Children thrive in boundaries.

They feel safe when someone stronger than them says,

“This is the way, walk ye in it.”

Parent with authority now, and when they’re grown, you’ll get to enjoy them as friends.

You’ll get to see the fruit of your labor.

You’ll get to sit across from a grown son or daughter who honors you—not because you coddled them, but because you led them.

But lead them you must. (Stop Treating Your Children Like Friends)

So please.

Stop handing over the reins to the smallest people in your home.

Take them back.

Take up your Bible.

Take up your role.

You are not raising equals.

You are raising children.

And they need a parent.

(Stop Treating Your Children Like Friends)

Biblical Womanhood / Substack

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