I ran across an msn.com article titled “10 Parenting Phrases from the Past That Wouldn’t Fly Today.”1 This devotional goes along with yesterdays, and I believe most of these phrases need to make a comeback. Ask yourself how many of these you were told!
“Because I said so!” If you were so foolish as to ask why? when told to do something, this was the answer. Did you ask why? a second time? Not unless you were really dumb because you knew what the answer was going to be!
“Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” Maybe this wasn’t the nicest statement to make but it put our whining into perspective. Most likely, we weren’t getting our way and our pout turned into crying. Modern psychologists say this is bad because it doesn’t acknowledge our child’s emotional state. I say (and my dad would’ve agreed) that the modern psychology of parenting has created a bunch of spoiled, entitled children that have become spoiled, entitled adults that can’t deal with hardships. Maybe the modern parenting psychologists need to be given something to cry about!
“Children should be seen and not heard.” I do understand that this was intended to help children learn their place. But I also believe that children could have something to contribute, and I love hearing from kids. I’m still the adult, though, and will make the final decision. I do not believe children should monopolize adult conversations. But imagine if people had told Josiah, the 8-year-old boy king, “Children should be seen, not heard.”
“You’re fine. Walk it off.” I’m very proud to hear my GIRLS using phrases like this with their kids. They don’t want to coddle and create the next generation of sissies and snowflakes. Sorry, that wasn’t politically correct, was it?
“Wait until your father gets home.” Personally, I’m not a huge fan of this because I think it diminishes the mom’s authority. Moms should be obeyed and respected just like the dads. Maybe this means that mom is going to handle it, and dad will handle it – again.
“I brought you into this world and I can take you out.” Okay, this is one that should never be said. As a parent, you are not going to take your child’s life away. Saying this is actually lying to your kid. In fact, you would die protecting your child, even if at the moment an intruder broke into your home, your child was throwing a tantrum. You wouldn’t look at the intruder and say, “Where have you been?!? They’re all yours!”
“You WILL eat what is put before you.” AMEN!!!!! This pandering to finicky kids has gotten way out of hand! I ate a lot of things I didn’t like and today, I love them!
“Go to your room and think about what you did.” Again, modern parenting denounces this statement for ridiculous, contrived reasons. Personally, I think this can be a good thing. Maybe the parent needs to cool down before addressing an issue or just think about a fitting punishment. If the child has been raised right from the beginning, this could also be a time for the kid to come to their own Biblical conclusion as to what they did wrong.
“Don’t be such a baby!” I would have to agree that this phrase needs to disappear. Insulting your child, calling them names is – childish. How can it be beneficial?
“Spare the rod, spoil the child.” We know that modern parenting abhors corporal punishment. And, yet God is all for it! Proverbs 22:15 says, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
The hardest job a person will ever do is raising a child. The parent will never be perfect, nor will the child. Mistakes will be made along the way. Own those mistakes. Confess openly and honestly when a mistake has been made, either in accusation or punishment. Make things right as quickly as possible.
And “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
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1https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/10-parenting-phrases-from-the-past-that-wouldn-t-fly-today/ss-AA1O1p2H?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=68f16dff7d6f427b98b15d463ab67404&ei=37#image=1
