Articles From Our Bulletins
Parental Authority
What does it mean to assert parental authority? It doesn't mean being a drill-sergeant dad or a yelling mom.
It means...ensuring that the parent-child relationship takes priority over child-peer relationships (it means proactive responsibility over their connection to friends, social media, etc.).
It means...being the parent rather than their best friend (WARNING: your child will get mad at you. REALITY: They'll get over it).
It means...giving kids com-mands, not suggestions ("Mommy will be happy if you eat your vegetables" -is a sugges-tion that doesn't "suggest" much of anything -except the child won't be eating his vegetables and Mom-my will remain unhappy).
It means...giving clear directives rather than questions ("Don't you want to pick up your toys?" I'm guessing the child has already answered that question. I'm also guess-ing the child will watch the parent pick up the toys).
It means...stopping the counting game ("I'm counting to three... 1, 2 (pause) 2 1/2 (longer pause), 2 3/4 (awkward pause)..." The counting game is exactly that -a game. Prepare to lose).
It means...rejecting the popular mantra: "Let the child decide." Okay, they will and their decisions won't be good for them, for you, or for anyone else.
Authoritative parenting re-quires...well, authority. It means establishing the boundaries of what is/isn't acceptable behavior and making them stick. When that happens something hardwired happens. The child expects dad and mom to be in control (God's natu-ral order). However, if that doesn't happen (and the par-ent serves the child), God's authority order falls out of balance and the results will be pathetic.
Want to win your child's love and respect? Be the par-ent-authority God challenges you to be.
